Fans and Girlfriends
by JustClem
Summary: Falling in love is easy for everyone. Falling in love with a famous band member? Still easy. But befriending them and hoping they'd return her feelings? Nope. Not easy. Yang never takes it the easy way, though. So, if there's a line between being a fan and a girlfriend, then she's going to break it! (Band AU - Fangirl Yang/Ruby - Musician Blake/Weiss)
1. Stage Frights

The sound of the crowd talking and cheering could be heard even from where Blake was sitting, which was outside of the gray-painted building, doing what she loved most and what she would never get tired of doing; reading.

The rest of her bandmates were inside, no doubt preparing themselves even when they still had some time before the show began, or at least, Neptune and Weiss would.

Sun would be chatting to people. They could be one of his fans or the janitors working in the building, there was nowhere in-between.

Weiss would definitely be reading the lyrics of the songs, no doubt trying to memorized them all, being the perfectionist she was.

Neptune would probably still be checking his outfit, looking for any wrinkles even though he'd ironed it at least twice.

While she more than just enjoyed their company, she also really enjoyed this book. This might be the fourth time she'd read it, but to her, a book was a book.

She definitely wasn't scared to perform in Vale, one of the biggest cities in all of Remnant with hundreds of audience for the first time.

Her feline ears twitched every now and then at the sound of the many people inside the building. She wished she could read in a more private area, but she knew that if she stray too far from the stage, she would get an earful from both her manager and Weiss.

Mostly Weiss.

Because of both the loud audience and her extra pair of ears, the girl was having a hard time trying to read. She had to squint her eyes, bring her book close to her face (close as in inches away), and she had to read every single word to fully understand the meaning.

And even with those she still wasn't able to properly get immersed into the story like she would usually.

She tried to ignore them.

She tried to ignore the loud cheers full of excitement and joy the fans of the band - her band - made. She was flattered by how positive the general audience had reacted to their overall performance from social media, but currently, she just… wanted to read. No, she wasn't scared, she was just in the middle of a really good book.

She tried to ignore the fact that time would never stop moving forward, and whether she liked it or not, she would have to face that crowd and give them what they wanted.

She tried to ignore the heart of hers, pounding not in the way a calm person's would, believing that she was calm and collected, like always. Not anxious. Not terrified. Peaceful.

As she flipped her page despite not knowing what the story was about anymore, she tried to ignore her weak and clammy hands that were filled with sweat.

She tried to ignore the possibilities of her failing in her first big concert.

Like her bass pick dropping off of her hand.

Or accidentally playing the wrong note, thus, ruining the entire song.

Or suddenly having a heart-attack in the middle of the concert.

Or falling down from the stage in front of thousands of people who no doubt filmed it, and they would no doubt put it in every social media, thus, ruining her life by making her a meme, her family disowning her and having to life on the stre-

The metal door was ruthlessly opened, its loud sound jolting her into standing up, partly because she was _right_ next to it, but mainly because she knew who it would be.

Weiss Schnee revealed herself like a phantom; all white. Her hair was tied onto it's unusual off-sided ponytail. Her clothes were white tank-top, light blue blouse, darker blue skirt, white leggings, and white boots.

It was a contrast to Blake's outfit, which was a simple black t-shirt with a dark purple vest, completed with a black leggings with purple stripes, and a black boots.

Stormy blue eyes met fearful amber ones.

"Blake!" She pointed her index finger towards the taller girl, narrowing her eyes. " _What_ are you doing out here?"

The faunus resisted the powerful urge to take a step back. It was times like these were she simply wondered: How the hell could someone so short be so scary?

"Err… reading?" Blue eyes widened instantly.

"Fifteen minutes before the show?!" The heiress shrieked so hard one might've thought she was a pterodactyl.

"...Yes?" Blake could only say, cringing both internally and externally, putting a sheepish smile that screamed 'Please don't kill me.'

The shorter girl clapped her two hands together and closed her eyes, taking a deep, hard breath. Blake could've sworn she saw steam coming out of the girl's red face, but chose not to say anything about it in fears of making the girl even more furious.

No one wanted to see a furious Weiss.

"Why?" was the only thing that came out of her mouth, leaving no room for argument or escape.

Amber eyes looked to her side, wanting not to answer that question - not with the truth. "It's… a really good book?" she provided lamely.

One perfectly-trimmed eyebrow rose. Blake internally cursed herself. _Of course_ Weiss would know that she was lying, they'd been friends for what felt like forever.

"You're a really bad liar, you know that?" Weiss retorted, voice suddenly soft, lacking any spite. Blake's eyes locked themselves onto the ground. She heard the sound of high-heels coming towards her, knowing that the girl was approaching her.

Slender index finger touched her chin, forcing her to look forward into her eyes.

Weiss looked deeply into Blake's eyes. And in those blue eyes, she could see many emotions the heiress was trying to hide. She might be able to fool the public by acting so proper and stoic all the time - she _was_ called the 'Ice Queen' for a reason - but she wasn't able to truly hide her emotions, not from showing them through her eyes.

"Blake. We have been practising this song for the last month, now. I _know_ nothing bad will happen. I _know_ the audience will love it. And I _know_ all of us will perform perfectly."

It was straight-forward. It was blunt. But it was what she needed.

With a shaky breath, she said, "You're right."

With a smile the heiress tried to hide, she rolled her eyes. "Of course, I am."

The faunus pulled her into a loose, gentle hug. At first, the heiress froze at the contact, and it was very understandable concerning where she was raised. But after a few seconds, she slowly melted into it.

Carefully, Blake let go of her. "Thanks, Weiss," was the only thing she said, making sure she was wearing a comforting smile for her friend.

"Y-you're welcome," the heiress replied a little forcedly. Now that Blake took a closer look at her, she could see how red her face was. It was adorable, to say the least. "N-now," she said, dusting off the invincible dust from her skirt. "Let's go inside."

"Alright," Blake replied to the poor girl with a smile.

Weiss didn't have time to return that smile, because she was already inside moments later.

Blake chuckled at her friend's antiques. Weiss may act as if she was confident, graceful, professional. And she really was to a certain extent, but the faunus could tell that today, she was just as nervous as the other members, if not, more.

And she had a good reason to be.

Ever since their band gained more recognition - and of course, more fans as well, they'd been working hard to perform more and more. It took them months to get where they were today, and they didn't want their show to be a complete flop.

This was genuinely their first actual real and big concert.

Before she set foot into the building's floor, she felt a buzz coming from her pocket jeans. Knowing it came from her phone, she turned it on. Her mouth curled into a genuine smile when she realised who had sent her a message.

Blake loved their admirers, each and every one. And every week, she'd get up to five messages - usually DMs - from them saying that they loved her.

The faunus had read every single one of these messages, and would always respond to them.

But one day, someone with a private account named YangXL had sent her a DM that was very different from all the other ones.

Usually, her admirers would always texted her simply, about one paragraph long, at least.

So of course Blake would be very shocked to read the ten paragraph long message praising not just the band's performance, but her performance specifically. It was full of explanation about why she was better than most bass players and why her style worked so well with the songs the band usually played.

Blake was very touched.

She felt it was a sin not to respond to such a heartwarming message.

She messaged about how happy this person's message made her feel, and thanked them, and overall, just chatted to them.

Not even hours later, this person already responded.

And that was how this… whatever this relationship Blake had with Yang, formed.

They never really chatted much. And when they did, Yang never asked any personal informations from her, and she made sure to do the same.

Neither of them mentioned any full names, or what schools they attend to, or any addresses.

Blake silently thanked the person for never trying to invade her privacy.

They usually talked at least once a week, and even then, it wasn't very long. It consisted of mostly Yang praising Blake for her performance or one of them recommending a song for the other to listen to.

The girl could easily tell that this Yang was a very excitable person. She could imagine that this girl had a very contagious smile, and was the life of the party.

Sort of the opposite of who she was, which more than once made her wonder why Yang liked her so much.

And recently, she was a little nervous when finding out that Yang would be watching her perform live for the first time.

The text Yang had sent her confirmed that she was in the building.

 ** _Damn, this place's really crowded, but can't wait to see u up there! U're gunna do great~ :D xp_**

The thought of seeing Yang in one of the crowds excited her, even though she didn't know what the girl even looked like. And she was nervous that she'd disappoint the girl as well.

After typing in her response, Blake walked in to meet her band minutes before the show begun, thinking that maybe, just maybe, she'd be able to meet this girl.

* * *

Blake tuned her bass, the deep sound sending a small vibration into her chest. She had already made sure two times before that every string wasn't off-noted, but it was better safe than sorry.

She would've read something if not for the fact that Weiss had snatched her novel, her back-up novel which she kept in her purse, and her phone; knowing that she downloaded a few literatures there too, saying that Blake needed to focus.

 _Curse Weiss and her high intelligence_ , her mind spoke.

She felt a touch on her shoulder. Turning her head to that direction, she found one of her bestest and truest friends. The definition of earnest itself, Sun.

"Hey, don't worry, you got this."

It took her a second before his words finally sunk in, realising what they meant. It took her another second before she realised she was brooding.

As gently as possible, she put the bass away and leaned into her chair, hoping it would ease him. She said after taking a deep breath, "Yeah… yeah, you're right. Thanks."

He flashed her his infamous, contagious grin. "I'm glad."

Blake examined her friend, truly examined him. He wore a black unbuttoned shirt that revealed the abs that many fans loved - more than he himself, a simple jeans and boots, with a touch of rope tied around his head.

Out of all the members of their band, he always wore the simplest outfits. He requested it since the beginning, saying that he wouldn't be able to play the drums properly if he was too busy worrying about his expensive shirt getting ripped off.

At first, everyone was a little hesitant, especially Weiss. But after time passed, they started to understand his reasons better and just accepted his wishes.

After all, the crowd wasn't here to judge his style of clothing.

They were here to judge his style of playing the drums.

"Are you okay?" Blake asked back, knowing that although he did always appear to seem cheerful on the outside, his face and his emotions were often the complete opposite.

The cat faunus had learnt how to read his body language and what they mean. His emotions were often shown in his tail movements. And currently, they were swishing back and forth rapidly, meaning that he was stressed.

Before she could do anything about it, she heard a very sharp intake of breath.

Looking towards the source of the sound, her fears were confirmed when he saw him, standing on shaking legs, one hand gripping the chair while the other on his chest, trembling, letting out shallow breaths.

Neptune was having another anxiety attack.

"Nep!" Sun was the first to call out for him, them having been close friends even before forming this band.

Weiss, who had been listening to music all this time, immediately put away her earphones and phone and walked towards the poor boy.

"No." Her voice was commanding and stern. Sun would've lashed out or got offended if he didn't know what she was going to do. "Let me handle this," was the only thing she said to the monkey faunus.

But even when he trusted Weiss, Blake could clearly see that he was distressed. She was too. But she knew that there was nothing they could do now.

She tugged his shirt, forcing him to look down at her. "He's going to be okay, Weiss knows what she's doing." She made sure to wear a smile that always comforted him.

And so, uneasily, he sat back down, having to do nothing but watch helplessly, seeing his friend suffer from the attack. It was hard for both of them. But it was even harder for Weiss and Neptune, the former having to calm him down and be patient with his tremors, the latter having to endure such an attack in the first place.

Weiss gently pushed him back down to his seat. When he did, she sat down next to him, forcing their faces to meet each other.

"W-weiss, I-I'm s-sorry f-f-f-" He was cut off by her slender pale finger in his mouth.

"Neptune," she whispered, her light blue eyes locking with his dark blue ones. "Don't worry about a thing, okay? Just focus on me, don't listen to anything but my voice, alright?"

Like she'd done many times before, Weiss put his hands on her chest, and took deep and gentle breaths, coaxing him to follow her. Every so often, she would say things to him, like crack some jokes, or tell him that everything would be just fine; anything that would distract him.

Slowly, he began to shake less and less. His breathing started to slow, and Blake could see even from where she was that he was visibly relaxing.

After a few agonizingly long minutes, he was calm. He still was frightened, but he was more in-control than before.

"Thanks, Weiss," he said, flashing her his small, honest smile. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Weiss couldn't help but smirk. "Dead, definitely." Her dry joke caused them all to break down into giggles.

A cough emerged. They realised that their manager, Glynda Goodwitch, had arrived, wearing a professional-looking business suit.

 _It fits her,_ Blake thought genuinely.

Before saying anything else, the woman looked at the blue-haired boy and asked purely out of concern, "How are you feeling, Neptune?" referring to his condition.

Weiss gripped his shoulder and looked at him warily. He took that hand and squeezed it before flashing the manager a look of great determination. "I'm… I'm good. Don't worry about me, I can manage."

The woman looked at him with those calculating green eyes before sighing in relentment, knowing she couldn't argue with him now. "Alright then."

She re-adjusted her glasses before saying in a much more commanding (some might consider motherly) tone. "Everyone, I've brought you all each one water bottle. Bring it with you to the show and drink it at least three times during it, especially you, Weiss."

The lead singer flinched at her tone and quickly and pridefully answered, "Yes, Ma'am."

Glynda nodded at her before focusing her attention at each and every one of the team.

"Sun," she started. "Did you bring the brand new drumsticks?"

"Yep!" He grinned, saluting playfully at her. "I brought two, just in case." He chuckled nervously, knowing that sometimes, when he performed, he might hit the percussions too hard that it caused the sticks to broke.

With a hint of smile, she said, "Good." Then her eyes travelled onto the only other male member of the group. "Neptune," she called. The boy simply looked at her nervously. "If it's that bad, _tell_ Weiss, understood?" It was an order, not a request. She waited for him to nod before adding, "And also, have you brought your keytar?"

With that question he grinned. "Arion is lock-and-loaded," he stated, looking at his familiar blue instrument, laid in-between one of the speakers, already plugged in and ready to be played.

"Blake."

The mentioned girl looked at her, only saying, "Yes?"

"Did you make sure to tune-in your bass?" asked the woman.

"Yes, more than once," she said without missing a beat.

Glynda smiled proudly, causing her to blush. "I knew you would," she said.

Their manager and caretaker then took a step forward, encouraging them all to form a small circle. They all complied.

After all, it was a big day for her too.

"The only difference with this show than the rest is the larger audience, that's all. I want you all to know that I'm proud of you regardless of what you'll do once you're in the stage. I know you'll do great. Just do your best, do what you practised, and everything will be fine."

Weiss, on the behalf of her team, nodded with furrowed brows and thin lips. "We'll do our best." Everyone couldn't miss hearing the tremble in her voice. The fear in it.

"I should get going now," Glynda said after some time, looking at her watch, "but I'll be watching you and waiting for you when you get back." After seeing them nod, she left.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer's voice boomed all around the building through the speakers attached to it, creating an echo that caused Blake to release a shaky breath. "This is the moment you've all been waiting for!"

The audience's reaction was very noticeable. Their usual murmurs stopped and was replaced by cheerings and screamings.

It was hard for Blake to believe that all of those people were excited for them.

Out of instinct, Blake's hand found itself holding Weiss's own.

Weiss flinched at the contact at first, but after knowing who was holding her hand, she tightened her grip around it and looked at Blake with a smile.

"The group consisting of the most diverse members that works together so well!"

A small portion of the audience started chanting their band's name. Blake wouldn't be able to hear it if not for her sensitive hearing.

Sun grabbed her hand. When she turned her head to look at him, she found that he was grabbing Neptune's hand as well.

They were all joining their hands together, waiting for their cue to finally perform.

"With Sun Wukong, the fittest drummer there is!" Sun grinned at that description, intentionally flexing his abs for the other members to see, knowing they'd be impressed.

No one was impressed.

"Blake, the mysterious and secretive bassist!" Blake rolled her eyes at that, but couldn't help but let out a smirk when she saw the way the others smiled at her jokingly.

"Neptune, the casanova!" Neptune blinked once before raising his eyebrow, looking at Weiss in question, not knowing what that meant and how he should respond to that.

Weiss just mouthed, "I'll tell you when we're done."

"And no one can forget the biggest star of them all!" Weiss flinched at that. The other noticed, and Blake held her hand tighter with a frown, wanting to comfort the small girl in some way, familiar with what was happening in her mind.

"The heiress of the biggest company in the world, the princess with the voice of an angel, the gem among stones, the lead singer of the band, Weiss Schnee!"

The crowd cheered the loudest at her name, then, the chanting grew larger and larger.

Blake couldn't believe what she was hearing. What they were chanting. Honestly, she couldn't believe any of this was happening.

Goosebumps invaded her body.

"Everyone…"

The audience were now all in-synch, chanting the name of their band. It was fierce. It was loud. It was filled with excitement.

"Let's all welcome…"

"This is it," Weiss said. "Remember what Glynda said. We _will_ be great."

"Yeah!" Sun shouted in glee. "Of course we would! Nothing's gonna stop us from blowing their minds!"

Neptune grinned unnaturally, a clear indicator that he was _very_ anxious. "Just be calm, always remember that anything can go wrong at any second so we should never let our guards down."

The atmosphere became tense at his words, Blake decided to rescue it by concluding, "Let's just have fun, okay?"

A hum of nods was her reply.

Weiss took another deep breath and said, "Let's go," as she started walking towards the stage.

Blake, as well as the rest of them, decided to trust their unofficial leader and lead singer and followed her, even without knowing how she knew when was the right time to appear.

Seconds before they were on stage, they heard the announcer spoke those three words.

The name of the band.

The name of _her_ band.

"Hunters and Huntresses!"

 _Here goes everything,_ she thought, stepping into the stage.

* * *

"Ho… ly… shit..." came the words from Sun's mouth, separated only by his panting breaths.

Out of all of them, he was - understandably - the most exhausted. It was clear from his body language. His arms and tail had to be dragged, each of his footsteps were slow and weak, and his entire body was practically showered with sweat.

Even currently, when his gray ones found a plastic chair, he surrendered into it, head first.

"Don't forget to change your clothes," Glynda Goodwitch, who was, as promised, there when they were finished, scolded him.

"Need…" He panted. "...water… to… live…" Blake chuckled at his dramatism, their manager, however, responded by rolling her eyes, although with a ghost of a smile.

"You all performed wonderfully," she stated, eyeing each and every one of them respectably. "Well done."

However, while Sun _was_ the most exhausted, that didn't mean that the rest wasn't exhausted at all.

"T-thanks, Miss Goodwitch," Weiss brought herself to reply. Now that Blake looked at her closely, she could see just how flushed the heiress was and how she struggled to look proper and polite.

Struggled.

"And Neptune," the mentioned boy just mumbled words that even Blake couldn't hear, not bothering to speak coherently. "I'm glad nothing happened." He raised his thumb at her before collapsing onto the chair.

After a few more heartfelt words, Glynda left them alone to rest, but not before sternly saying, "Don't go anywhere, especially you, Sun."

Blake dabbed the sweat off of her face using the towel provided by their caring manager. She took a few sips of water here and there, careful not to take too many in case she choked on it.

The concert, while very successful, still drained all of her energy. Her right hand hurt from touching the metal strings even after all this time she'd used the instrument.

Her face was caked with sweat. Her hands and knees were trembling. Her breath was still faster than normal.

She, in the simplest terms, felt like crap.

Suddenly, Glynda came back. "Blake," she called out. The girl looked at her, too tired to say anything, merely raising a simple eyebrow in acknowledgement. "There's someone outside who'd like to meet you."

The girl frowned immediately, wondering who that person was. But she was also too tired to ask any questions, so in her mind, it was better to see this person for herself. "Um… O-okay."

Standing up sluggishly, she started thinking if it was an old friend.

But, then again, she never had that many friends to begin with, and none of them were in Vale, as far as she knew.

She started to walk, the gear in her head spinning as she started guessing who this person might be.

 _The more important question is, why would Miss Goodwitch allowed them to come and see me?_ Her detective-like mind asked.

Glynda Goodwitch had always been very protective of them all, like a mother would to it's cub. She was always strict when it comes to meeting fans, and she would never, _ever_ allow any fans to even get a glimpse of the band _especially_ after they'd perform.

But all of that information just grew more and more of her curiosity. Thankfully, before that curiosity could kill her, she was already outside, in the supposed place where this person was.

Outside of their room was a large hallway. And the only person there was a blonde girl who was leaning her back towards the wall, playing with her phone.

There was still quite a bit of a distance between them, so Blake was having a hard time actually seeing the girl or any of her features.

It didn't help that there was only one lamp in this large hallway, and that one light was excruciatingly dim.

The dark-haired girl decided to close their distance by walking towards the girl. And more and more, she could make out the girl's features.

She could tell even from afar that the girl's hair looked very good, but now that she was up close, she could make out just how wild, yet, amazing that yellow mane was. It almost appeared to be glowing.

Her clothes were simply a yellow shirt with a flame emblem on the side, complimented by a brown jeans. Yet somehow, she made it really good, almost as if she was a model wearing outfit that costed hundreds of dollars.

Blake knew, even before she could fully saw her face, that this girl was pretty.

And she was having a hard time comprehending that _this_ girl wanted to meet someone like her.

The girl finally noticed her, and leaned away from the wall, putting her phone back onto her pocket.

She had the most stunningly beautiful eyes Blake had ever seen.

The blonde's lips formed into a grin - which Blake thought was illegally cute - and her eyes shimmered with excitement when she said, "Blake! You were amazing up there! I knew you were gonna look and sound better live!"

The faunus blinked. Then she frowned. Then her eyes widened. Then her jaw dropped. Then she performed a sharp intake of breath, otherwise known as gasping.

"YANG?!"

* * *

 **Author's Notes : Hi everyone, welcome to my version of The Band AU! I know, I know, not very original… I think… but, anyways, if you didn't know, I stopped writing Humans and Demons, and moved onto this.**

 **This story _will_ have a plot, but it will mostly be filled with fluff, at least, for the first few chapters.**

 **The first few chapters will be world-building, character-building, and relationship-building. I want the characters to be three-dimensional. I want them to feel real. And I want the readers to care about them.**

 **The main ship is, obviously, Bumblebee, but the ship Whiterose will be included as well.**

 **And, no, before you ask, there won't be any love triangles, not between Sun, Yang, and Blake, nor Neptune, Weiss, and Ruby.**

 **No. That's overdone, and I'm honestly sick and tired of it.**

 **Also, 'Hunters and Huntresses'… original, right? Yeah, I liked it tho.**

 **I genuinely enjoy writing this. I also like the idea of Yang being a fan of Blake instead of the other way around, it's always been fun for me to put these characters into unusual roles without changing their personality traits.**

 **So, I hope you enjoyed this fic. I'll hopefully be able to upload every week, especially since I made a rule not to write a chapter that's over 5000 words.**


	2. Dream come True (Part 1)

Yang thought it was pleasant, the way the wind carried itself so gently, like whispers. It waved her hair, but never in a way that discomforted her. It was one of the many things she used to like about the summer, things she still liked about it now.

She suppressed a moan from slipping out of her mouth as she took another bite of a chicken wing. An inhumanly delicious chicken wing.

She savored the taste: Eyes closing, mouth slowly chewing every bit, enjoying every little crunch while it lasted.

After swallowing it, she voiced very clearly, "Rubes, these are so delicious, we need to go here everyday!"

The smaller girl nodded vigorously, taking a large sip of her strawberry milkshake, too busy to actually say something.

Then, a really great idea came, and she said with a loving grin, "I guess you could say these are… _supper_ delicious?"

Ruby stilled for one moment - Yang thought she was definitely admiring and appreciating her intelligent pun - before continuing eating merrily. Still no responses.

 _Guess I'm not the only one eating a good food,_ she thought.

Yang internally congratulated herself for picking this restaurant for her and her sister to eat. She'd searched for a place that was close to what was now known as 'concert-building', thinking that a small empty restaurant like this should have… well, at least, eatable food.

...Boy, this wasn't just eatable food. At any time, she'd let this food eat _her._

And the place also had a nice, humble atmosphere with a medieval design to it, which was a plus in Yang's book, since she'd always appreciated these things.

"So… are you sure they're letting you meet her?" Ruby asked before taking another bite of her beef, chewing the food apprehensively, not because the taste of it was less than decent, but because of her worry for her sister.

The older sibling groaned. She swore she'd had this conversation at least five times already.

"Oh my Dust, Ruby! For the millionth time, yes!" she said, not bothering in hiding the fact that she was annoyed. "Qrow told me he's friends with the manager, and she lets me meet her after the show!"

The brunette swallowed a small bite of her food and looked at the blonde, silver eyes shimmering with worry.

"And… when he said 'friends'... does he mean, like, friends he trusts with his life, or someone he met at a bar that one time?"

Yang blinked before she slowly sulked, realising that her sister had a good point. Qrow himself wasn't exactly a shady man, per se, but sometimes he had certain types of people he called friends that just… didn't sit well with either of them.

But, maybe for once, he really was telling the truth, and that his so-called friend really was the manager and could get her to meet the musician, even if only for a few minutes.

With that thought in mind, she shrugged while saying, "Don't know, don't care." She then took a sip of her orange juice, letting it sooth her throat with it's chilliness. She didn't, however, fail to notice the glare Ruby gave her.

"Yang…" she said, trying to mimic the tone the blonde would use on her, intending to look intimidating as she did so.

The blonde chuckled, seeing her sister pouting and sending her glares that were too cute to be legal. Sometimes her sister was just so cute without even realising it.

"What?" She leaned back, her two hands around her head being the only thing preventing her from falling over the chair. "Of course I don't care about how I'll meet Blake Belladonna," she explained, trying to defend herself, "I care about the fact that _I'll be meeting Blake Belladonna._ "

Ruby shook her head slowly with a frown while looking at her, as if she was the maniac for getting excited over meeting an almost successful band member.

Sometimes it amazed Yang how - for a lack of better term - disinterested Ruby could be when it came to the world of fame and stars.

The blonde decided to drop that thought, too confused to understand her sister in that aspect, and focus on what truly mattered; these chicken wings that, if described as other-wordly, breathtakingly, tear-jerkingly delicious, would be a _criminal_ understatement.

She was saddened to see, that in a time that felt too short for her, the food was halfway finished already. She took another sip of her drink and looked at her little sister.

And realised how not little her sister was anymore.

Usually, when dressing herself to go to school, or library, or even the groceries, Ruby never really want to look dazzling, choosing to wear her simple red hoodie and jeans.

The brunette normally wore clothings that made her look cute on family gatherings and special school events, which almost never happened.

So, looking at the brunette with her choice of outfit - a light pink crop top with a rose design on the center, completed with a short layered skirt with the color of dark red - Yang couldn't help but think how much of a beautiful woman the girl would grow up to be, how beautiful she already was today.

"So…" Ruby started, her eyes drifting up, locking into a beautiful shade of purple. Yang saw curiosity shining in those eyes. "You're gonna meet… _just_ Blake?"

The blonde sighed knowingly. Of course, it was expected. Why would someone want to meet just one member of a band as opposed to the entire band itself.

"Yeah, it's because of the manager, her name's Goodwitch I think, and she's very strict and very protective," she explained, recounting every little bit of what her uncle had said when he'd called her, and try to explain it in a simpler manner. "Like… _very_ protective."

Yang knew she'd explained that last bit slowly and didn't really answer her sister's question, but it seemed to distract the brunette from it.

"Huh…" The small girl nodded thoughtfully; understandably. "I guess that is a good thing," she said, trying to keep things positive as usual, although it seemed a bit too forced, which raised a yellow eyebrow.

Subconsciously, she leaned towards her sister, hoping to better inspect her and figure out what was bothering her.

"You sure you don't wanna come with?" She waited for a reaction, and the only reaction was Ruby looking at her direction with an unreadable expression, so she continued. "I mean, I could-"

"Yang," Ruby said, looking at her levelly. Then, a bright smile formed on her lips. "I'm sure. Don't worry about me, okay? This is _your_ big day."

A small part of Yang wanted to argue with that last part, but she let the bigger part of her, the part of her that was proud that her little sister had grown up to be such a kind and mature soul, showed.

Wiping away the invincible tear in her eyes, and sniffling dramatically, she said, "Aww, thanks, Rubes."

With a cocky smirk, the brunette added, "Plus, I seriously don't want to be a third-wheel."

Yang's reaction was more expressive than anyone would ever thought possible.

She went from smiling ear-to-ear, to her face paling and flushing at the same time. "Wha-!? What are you even talking about!?"

Ruby simply looked at her indereciously, as if Yang had missed something very important.

"Umm…" she shifted slightly in her seat. "Isn't it obvious?" She made sure to ask first, and when the blonde didn't give any response, she declared, "You have a crush on Blake Belladonna."

It would seem that Yang's ability to form coherent words had been disabled by the girl's words. "Wh-what? H-how? W-why would-"

The brunette smirked knowingly, crossing her arms, looking down at her, saying, "You're not saying 'no'."

The blonde let out a frustrated groan, burying her face in her arms, slumping down on the table. She emerged while responding quickly, "Okay, fine! Yes! I do have a crush on her!"

"Wow, Yang, I've never seen you act like this before," Ruby said, genuinely shocked.

The blonde had to agree with that. She was Yang Xiao Long, a very well-known heartbreaker and the very definition of confidence. She'd had her fair-share of crushes before, but none of them ever lasted this long, nor did they ever mold her into this… blubbering, insecure mess.

"Will you just stop?" she said with a sigh.

Ruby pretended to be in a deep thought, considering her sister's pleas, brows furrowing and humming.

"Fine, I'll stop teasing you…" Yang was about to thank her when she added, "For now…"

Yang saw her sister with great shock defining her face. "...I've raised a monster," she muttered disbelievingly.

Ruby just responded by winking at her and taking another bite of her food. Yang sighed. _Man, I'm a bad influence…_

A comfortable silence passed with both of them finishing their food. Yang briefly checked the time and found that the concert would start in another thirty minutes. And she'd estimated that the walk from this building to the concert-building would take about ten minutes.

So, all in all, while the place would be crowded when they get there, they still wouldn't miss any part of the show.

"So~" the brunette said in a sing-song voice. Yang briefly glanced at the girl's plate and found that it was nearly completely empty, just like hers, meaning it won't be long until they leave. "You and Blake… What do you usually talk about - with her, I mean?"

There were no hint of playfulness in her tone. The brunette was genuinely interested of her big sister's actual relationship with the musician.

Yang decided to be straightforward and honest with her.

"Well, we don't really talked _that_ much," she started, her eyes shooting upwards in remembering. "And it's mostly just me telling her how much I love her performance, since," she shrugged, "I don't wanna be one of 'those' fans, you know…" Her face turned into one of disgust. "Ones that get really obsessive and don't care _at all_ about what the artists feel…"

She took another deep breath and looked at her sister. Ruby was awestruck, to say the least. Her silver eyes felt as if they were seeing right through any mask she wore, looking at who she truly was. A small blush crept upon Yang's cheeks as she slightly shifted in her seat. The stare her sister gave her was too much.

"Wow, you really care about her, don't you?"

That blush turned fifty shades darker. Yang looked down on her now empty plate. "Whatever, let's just go." She didn't answer that question - she simply couldn't. She wanted to tell Ruby that she just sympathise with all famous people, but she knew how false that was.

She never really cared about what a certain famous person felt when she met them or texted them, just like others... Until she saw Blake.

Yang found herself paying for their meals, and after giving a small "thank you", she went towards the exit and waited there, knowing it won't take long until Ruby finished her drink.

But, the blonde noticed something peculiarly odd with the brunette. When they exited the restaurant and began walking towards the concert-building, she noticed that her sister wasn't as enthusiastic as her, or even as bright and cheerful as usual. She knew because whenever Ruby was ever excited about anything, she would voice those excitements and expressed them in every way possible.

"Hey, c'mon!" Yang said with an ear-to-ear smile, putting her arm around her waist, giving her a loose one-armed hug. "This is a big day for you too, right? This is your first concert, Rubes! Aren't you excited?"

The brunette flinched when looking at those lilac full of masked concern. "Well, I mean, yeah, I am," she replied, silver eyes trailing down as she whispered, "But…" hoping the blonde wouldn't hear.

"You're scared you won't have a good time." It was a statement. Ruby's steps slowed down, not that either of them noticed.

The small brunette looked up at her and nodded weakly. It reminded Yang that, once again, Ruby would always be her baby sister. The blonde gave her a comforting smile.

"Trust me, Rubes. Hunters and Huntresses… they're different, they're better than most bands. Because, unlike most bands, these guys actually love what they do. Sort of like you, actually."

Ruby perked up. "You think so?"

Yang grinned at her sister.

"Yeah!" she cheered and gave her sister a thumbs up. "You're gonna love their songs. I guarantee!"

Ruby's eyes shimmered with excitement. She took a deep breath and said passively, "Alright, I believe you."

Yang knew her sister still didn't think she'd have a good time. So, instead of trying to convince her with words, the blonde decided that it was best to simply showed her why this band was special.

* * *

Yang had been going to a few concerts before. None of them were relatively big or popular, and she only went there either because she had nothing else to do or because her friend had asked her to accompany them there.

So, it came as a wild shock to her when she'd found that this place was very crowded. It took them what felt like ages before they could get towards the center of the building, right where Yang wanted them to be, the place where they got the best experience.

Her uncle had always told her that if you were too far from the stage, you won't be able to feel the music, it'd be like watching a big TV, and if you were too close to the stage, you won't be able to see a damn thing.

"Wow…" Ruby breathed, looking around, taking in every detail, being very amazed, especially since this was the first time she'd ever go to a place like this.

Yang couldn't blame her, even she was awestruck. "Yeah…" The blonde nodded in agreement. "Wow…"

Yang checked the time from her phone and found that it won't be long until the concert started, presuming that there won't be any delays. She started typing a small message towards Blake.

 _Should I… should I tell her where I am? No, that'll just be weird! Ask her when she's going to perform? No, no, it'll just make her even more nervous!_

The blonde was so immersed in her phone, so much so that she couldn't feel the brunette's gaze at her - or, more specifically, her small rectangular device.

"Who are you texting?" came the question from the small girl.

Yang didn't even spare her a glance. "Oh, just Blake," she mumbled disinterestedly.

"Really?" The brunette stepped closer towards her, looking at her phone, trying to decipher what the text was. When she found that the blonde had yet text her anything, she asked with a small frown, "What're you gonna tell her?"

Yang, still deep in thought, answered truthfully, "I don't know yet."

After some time, she decided that this would be her message: **_Damn, this place's really crowded, but can't wait to see u up there! U're gunna do great~_**

She bit her lip, and added two emojis before sending the PM. Then, she literally smacked her forehead and groaned, not caring if it caused a few questioning glances from the other audiences.

"Two emojis?!" Her shout was directed at herself. Ruby noticed this as well, which was why she didn't say anything, too preoccupied with playing a game in her own phone.

"Dammit! Did I really have to tell her how crowded this place is?... Crap, she definitely hates-"

A buzz.

Looking down, she read a reply from Blake. It was far from her expectations, especially since she didn't even expect the bassist to reply to her message, much less this early.

 ** _I hope I don't disappoint you, and thanks :)_**

A dumb grin washed over her face. By now, she wouldn't be surprised if an entire crowd of people were looking at her weird, heck, she wouldn't care!

She was just happy that not only did Blake reply to her, but she wasn't at all creeped out by her message.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen!" a man's voice, booming through the many speakers installed in the building, shouted. Yang flinched at the voice, and turning around, she saw Ruby almost dropping her phone.

"Yeesh," the small brunette complained, much to her amusement, "couldn't he be more loud?"

"This is the moment you've all been waiting for!" The voice echoed throughout everything.

"The concert's about to start," Yang said.

"What?!" Ruby asked, her voice drowned by the crowd's steadily growing voice.

"The group consisting of the most diverse members that works together so well!" Yang raised an eyebrow at that sentence, feeling that it was a little odd in how he mentioned how diverse they were. But she quickly focused her attention back to her sister.

"I said!-" she shouted with all the might she had, and it still sounded so small compared to the crowd's cheers. "-The concert's about to start!"

"I know!" the brunette yelled back, turning her head to the stage, starting to get immersed in the hype. Yang grinned, glad that her sister seemed to be enjoying herself.

"With Sun Wukong, the fittest drummer there is!" The blonde snorted, not at how it was phrased, but because of how true that fact was. She'd seen the pictures, and hear it from the fans who saw him themselves.

… There were rumours - myths, even - concerning those abs.

"Blake, the mysterious and secretive bassist!" Yang wanted to yell at him with that sentence.

 _Her life is not yours to document, you know!_

"Neptune, the casanova!" Yang raised an eyebrow and turned to look at her sister, only to find that her sister, along with a few others next to her, was wearing the same face of bewilderment.

Then, her ears picked up on something. It took her less than a second to realise what it was. It was a chant. She quickly decided to join them out of excitement.

"And no one can forget the biggest star of them all! The heiress of the biggest company in the world, the princess with the voice of an angel, the gem among stones, the lead singer of the band, Weiss Schnee!"

By now, everyone was chanting their band's name. Looking at her side, she was glad that her sister was joining the chanting too.

"Everyone… Let's all welcome…"

Yang's heart was roaring in her chest. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to punch something.

She was about to see Blake Belladonna perform live for the first time!

Then, _she_ appeared, and it was… it was like she was transported into a new world.

Her hair was jet-black and wavy, it looked… different from all the photos Yang had seen. It looked much better… softer.

She wore such a simple outfit, but… Yang didn't care about that, because in her lilac eyes, she looked beautiful in anything.

Yang stared. For the longest of time she stared. Not to the stage. Not to the band itself. But to her.

Blake Belladonna.

It was only when she heard Ruby gasped did the blonde realised where she was and what was happening. She looked at her sister, who was adorning the same face as when she first found out about the existence of a chocolate chip cookie cake

"Holy cow…" Her dreamily tone of voice suggested that Ruby wasn't really completely conscious, lost in a trance-like state, just like her a few seconds before.

Her arms slowly outstretched itself. She pointed towards the stage, or rather, what was on it, and asked weakly, "Yang?... Who's that?"

Curious, Yang followed the girl's finger and found exactly what she was looking at. Her curiosity only grew larger. "Oh, her? That's the lead singer, Weiss Schnee, haven't I told you about her before?"

"No!" the brunette immediately denied.

Yang scratched her chin, pondering as she asked, "Really?" not quite believing her words. "I could've sworn I showed you a picture of her before…"

"Yang!" Ruby whined, yet her eyes never left the sight of the heiress. "You only ever showed me pictures of Blake! Heck, you never even mentioned me the name of the freaking band until yesterday!"

Caught off-guard of the girl's complaint, and her choice of words, Yang couldn't resist raising both of her arms as she said a little sheepishly, "Sorry, but you do know I'm not really a fan of the band itself, right?" Then, she asked with a frown, "Also, why're you so upset about it? You never really cared about it until now."

"Of course I'm upset!" Ruby snapped. "I didn't know the singer looks so… so…"

"Short?" Yang offered, looking back at the white-haired girl, trying to decipher what was it about her that made her sister act the way she was.

She could see that the band themselves was still adjusting their respective instruments - save for Weiss. Blake and Neptune was adjusting the speaker volume, the latter looked far more nervous than the former. Sun was still playing around with cymbals, likely making sure that none of the screws were loose, and Weiss simply looked at the audience and smiled while waving.

"Yang?!" she heard Ruby yelled. "Why didn't you tell me anything about her!?"

"Because you never asked!?" she shot back, wondering what truly captivated her sister. She guessed that maybe Weiss's voice was very grand, but Ruby had never really heard her voice. Maybe the heiress did look pretty-

Oh.

"...Oh… Ohhh…" Realisation of the situation slowly dawned the blonde. "I get what's going on!" she declared gleefully.

"My Thorny Little Rubbles has a crush on the Ice Queen!"

She was so excited that she combined the nickname her father gave the brunette, which was 'Thorny Little Rose', and her own, which was 'Rubbles.'

She snapped her head towards her big sister saying, "Of course I have a crush on her! She's gorgeous!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Ruby's cheek became as red as her name. "I- I mean- I just-"

"Holy… shoot…"

Before she could continue, it started.

At first it was the a drum beat, not too fast, but still carried such power. It was followed by both the bass and the keytar, synchronized.

The three instruments complimented each other pretty well. The combined sounds created a ghostly, timid, harrowing atmosphere. It was eery. It was haunting.

It was amazing.

And it became much more than that when Weiss's voice joined in. Her voice was like a spirit itself. It sounded so emotional, so chilling, so… out of this world.

This was _nothing_ like what she saw on YouTube.

It came to a stop. The whole audience was silent as ghost.

"... Wowzeers," she heard the brunette whispered, "her voice is just…"

Ruby didn't finish her sentence as the music started again, this time in a much more powerful tone, sending shivers down Yang's spine. But the blonde doubted that, even if the music didn't interrupt the girl, she would be able to finish her sentence.

They watched as the song started. Weiss's voice was unlike anything she'd ever heard before, it was mesmerizing to say the least. It was as if she was singing in a foreign language. The blonde was only able to catch the word "twister" and "hold on" throughout the entire song. Even if she didn't know what it was about, Yang could tell that the song had a deep meaning.

Each of the other performers themselves were not just decent.

Sun was the most noticeable one. What made him unique compared to other drummers wasn't just the fact that he was a monkey faunus, but that he used that fact to his advantage.

In other words, the muscular blond used his tail in performing, lending him the opportunity to play the drum in ways other drummers could never be able to do.

Neptune was next. He appeared to be very nervous, especially looking at his stiff posture and the fact that he never looked at the audience for far longer than necessary. But his stagefright never ruined his performance.

If anyone were to ask what word they would use to describe him, it would be unique.

He was the only band member Yang had ever seen using a keytar. Not a keyboard, not a guitar, but a combination of both. The reasoning behind this was never made public.

But even if he used a rare instrument, that didn't mean he wasn't good at it. In fact, he was far from it.

Every note was tapped with such delicacy, such harmony, such gracefulness. He was the only member - excluding Weiss, in an aspect - that provided a melody. And he provided it well.

His keytar was like a backup singer, helping Weiss shine without ever going too far with his performance, always carrying things with such intense focus and familiarity with definite years of training.

And finally… Blake…

Blake Belladonna…

Many people had called her 'Nightshade' because of her last name.

She was… she was who captivated Yang most.

She was the sole reason why Yang was here in the first place.

And seeing her perform now… it made Yang just realise how amazing she was, and how little people gave her credit.

The bass she held was like part of her body, and she tapped each key without even looking, like it was second nature.

The movements of her fingers. They were fast, swift, and they were sharp.

Yang couldn't help but compare her to a ninja of some sort - or maybe even an assassin - so fast, so quiet, but so deadly.

Without even realising it, the song had ended.

Yang let out a whole-hearted laugh, partly because she was amazed by the song they'd just played, and partly because she still couldn't believe that Blake was right in front of her.

She turned to look at her sister, intending to ask if she enjoyed it. But Yang got her answer just by looking at her face.

"Careful, Rubes," she warned teasingly, "you're still sixteen~"

"Yeah, well, you're only two years older than me," Ruby answered. Yang shook her head with a smile.

"I am _so_ gonna download all of her albums," she heard the brunette mutter, which was another opportunity for teasing.

"Don't you mean 'their'?" Yang asked.

"Nah, not really," the brunette answered without even realising it, her eyes still on the white-haired beauty.

Then, the second song started. This time, the pace was much slower and calmer. Yang noticed that she'd heard this song before. But, in her opinion, this version was far better than the original.

The crowds started to sing along with her, their voice low, which was a contrast to the singer's voice.

Their voice made the song even better.

And while Yang didn't know the lyrics of the song, she still remembered the tune and hummed along, not really caring if it was not in the right tune.

The song ended a few minutes later.

Their second song was different from the first. While the first could be described more of awestrucking or bone-chilling, the second one was much more enjoyable and fun - more general, perhaps.

But, out of nowhere, she heard Ruby shouted very loudly: "Hey! Miss Belladonna! My sister has a huge crush on you!"

She quickly silenced the young girl psychically, putting her hand on her mouth, ignoring an audience's response that was, "Don't we all?"

"Ruby!" she half-whispered half-shouted. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Ruby said something even with her mouth closed. Yang groaned and let go of her.

"Helping you out?" the brunette said, well, repeated.

Yang, with gritted teeth, said, "You're embarrassing me!"

Ruby blinked and cocked her head. "By telling the truth?"

"Yes! Look, let's-" she took a deep breath, trying to let this silly argument go. "Let's just watch the show, alright?"

Yang muted out whatever innocent response her sister gave her.

And, conveniently for her, the third song just started.

It was just as great as the ones before, only this time, it was much more energetic and fun.

And while before, she was too busy admiring the performance and watching over her sister, now she truly get the time to be amazed at the real reason why she went into this concert in the first place.

Even from afar, even if parts of her vision was blocked by the audience in front of her, even if the strobe lights and smoke machines made things even more difficult to see, Yang was still happy; happy that she could see Blake.

She was very happy.

Because, finally, after all these months of admiring, waiting, imagining, and wondering… she finally get to see Blake perform in real life…

Finally… her dream came true…

And, hours later, once this had ended… her other dream would come true as well.

The dream of meeting Blake Belladonna.

* * *

 **Author's Notes : Hey guys, I just published a little something called "Five Minutes"... it involves being a one-shot and a Bumblebee story filled with cuteness and fluffiness and all things good in this world. So, if you _really_ are a bumblebee fan, you should check it out~**

 **Okay, originally, this chapter should've ended with Yang and Blake waving their goodbyes, but… well… I made a promise not to make chapters that are longer than 5000 words, and this entire thing already ended in (more or less) 5000 words, so… I made a two-parter chapter… thingie…**

 **As for the songs played… I didn't want to mention any titles or put in the complete lyrics, because I feel that it's up to you, as the readers, to imagine what songs were played.**

 **However, these are the songs that played in my head as I wrote them: The first song is Ridiculous Thoughts by Cranberries (my all-time favourite band's all-time favourite song, it is just…** _ **amazing**_ **), the second one is Castle by Halsey (it fits sooo well with Weiss's character), and the third one is… I Write Sins Not Tragedies by Panic At The Disco…**

… **I can already hear the fandom screaming.**

 **But still, it's really up to the reader's imaginations. Hey, that got me thinking: Why don't you tell me what song played in your head? I'm very interested and I would also like to listen to more songs. Who knows, maybe we have the same taste in music~**

 **So, be sure to review, because I like reading them, and, um… I hope you enjoy this chapter, oh! And have a good day!**

* * *

 **ims : Lol, this will actually sort of be expanded in future chapters, don't worry~**

 **CrocodilleLover98 : Wow, just… wow… thank you for pointing out all the small details I put in my work… I have no idea what to say other than thank you…**

 **Night Flare : Hello again~ you awesome person! And thank you for having faith in me! I'll do my best not to let you down!**

 **M : Thank you for reading my story!**


	3. Dream come True (Part 2)

_**Be careful Rubes. Don't talk to strangers. Go straight to home. If you passed by a cookie shop, send the photo to me and i'll buy it for you, k?**_

Any and every horrible scenario involving a young girl walking to home alone at night appeared in Yang's mind - scenarios ranging from older boys kidnapping the girl to suddenly getting transported into a new and magical world like in that one japanese cartoon she saw.

No matter how irrational these thoughts were, they couldn't seem to go away, always lingering in her head. With each passing second, a new 'what if' scenario popped into her head.

It had grown increasingly so much that Yang couldn't help but add in another message: _**If you see a guy wearing a clown mask, run like hell!**_

The rational part of her mind, the part she desperately tried to listen to, told her that she was acting like the small girl was going to a warzone of sorts, but the opposite part of her mind, the part she couldn't ignore as much as she wanted to, keep telling her that she needed to text Ruby what the girl should do if she encountered a shark.

… _Why in the hell would there be a shark!?_ Yang shouted internally.

And more frustratingly so, this all happened because Ruby wanted to go home early.

Well, technically, Ruby wasn't early at all, she left at the same time as all the other crowds, which was some time after the concert ended.

It was Yang who would come home late because… because…

Yang's heart beat so loudly she could hear it pounding in her chest. She was glad she was leaning onto something, because, with how much her knees were trembling, she wasn't sure she would be able to properly stand. Heck, if she were being honest, she was surprised that she hadn't dropped her phone, especially because of how clammy and sweaty her hands were.

Her body reacted this way because of her thought; her thought of meeting a certain popular cat faunus.

 _Oh fuck… I'm… I'm meeting Blake Belladonna… I'm meeting BLAKE BELLADONNA!_

Yang did some relaxation techniques she once found on YouTube. It may be for women who were pregnant, but that didn't matter.

 _Calm down, Xiao Long. You've been dreaming about this for months now, don't screw this up. Don't look or act too nervous. Just… be yourself…_

 _Just… breathe…_

And so she did.

She breathed in… and she breathed out…

In… and out…

When she was as calm as she felt she needed to be, she gave herself an internal confidence boost.

 _Alright, remember, be polite, and welcoming, and charming, and don't forget awesome, or should I say PAWsome? Wait, can I make cat jokes in front of her? Will it be offensive? Will she be offended?... Yeah, this isn't making any sense._

Unsatisfied with her disastrous excuse of a pep talk, Yang decided to check her currently black-screened device. She turned it on only to see a few unread messages from her sibling.

 _ **Yang.**_

 _ **I'm 16.**_

 _ **I can handle using the flippin bus.**_

 _ **Don't worry about me.**_

 _ **Go get her~**_

At the first few messages, Yang chuckled. The fact that each and every word - some of them, at least - spoke volumes of how angry the tiny brunette was.

But Yang supposed she was right. Ruby was nearly an adult, even if she rarely acted like one. And sometimes she needed to let the girl fend for herself…

However, the blonde's face couldn't be redder when she read the last message.

She turned the device off, suddenly not interested in replying her sister, no matter how big of an opportunity there was to slip in a good joke, possibly towards the newfound revelation of Ruby's attraction towards Weiss.

She looked at the view in front of her; the view of the dark empty hallway.

The silence sounded very… off. That was the first thing Yang paid in mind. She fathomed that maybe it had something to do with the booming music she'd heard hours ago.

Maybe her ears had gotten so accustomed to the loud noise that hearing almost nothing was almost wrong.

A recollection of that concert flew into her head.

The memories itself was a blur. Yang could only remember images of a few people; those people being Blake (obviously), Ruby, Weiss, and less clear pictures of Sun and Neptune.

However, the feeling… of rush… of thrill…

Her body still vibrated with that excitement. She doubted this giddiness would go away - not for a few days at least. And when it did, Yang doubted she would ever feel it again.

She remembered the downcast look on Ruby's face, on the entire audience's face, when the concert was officially announced to be over.

She remembered seeing a few people shouting, requesting them to play another song… she also remembered feeling a sense of understanding towards those people, and feeling astonished to realise that it was already night.

 _I guess time flies really fast when you're enjoying yourself,_ the blonde thought with a blooming smile.

Saying that she enjoyed herself would be an understatement. Out of the many shows she'd attended to, not once did she ever have this much fun.

With her limited-knowledge of rock concerts, or concerts in general, all that really happened was a bunch of dudes - who usually wore a blindingly bright fake leather jacket - standing on a mic, singing in a decent voice, sometimes even less than decent, while the entire stage got filled with an uncoordinated mixture of smoke machines, lasers, and flame.

Yang remembered the first concert she'd went… Her ears couldn't stop ringing for days.

And she was immensely glad she'd made the decision to bring Ruby along.

Currently, she was leaning towards the wall because she was too exhausted (and lazy) to properly stand, thinking about how the dark hallway reminded her of a horror movie.

There was a wooden bench on the corner where she could sit on. Yang had put a certain bag filled with something special to rest there.

But it was too far from the band's room. And Yang didn't want to be too far from that room. Blake was in that room.

Thinking about Blake, Yang's mind started to wrap itself in a memory of her encounter with the manager around twenty minutes ago.

It was… extremely professional and very straight to the point. There were no room for jokes, much to Yang's dismay.

The woman had approached her only to inform her that she would be meeting only _one_ member for a limited amount of time - that was, until they were prepared to leave the building. She also warned the young blonde about the topics she was allowed to speak and other things, such as not to tire the musician in any way.

Yang listened intently in each and every word, soaking it all in, and making sure the retell those words in her head. And while she was a little (okay, very) disappointed in time-limit part, she strongly agreed with the rest of the conditions.

Never speak any heavy topics: Of course not! This was the first time she would ever even meet the artist, why on earth would she start up the conversation by asking about the meaning of life or what was wrong with the economy?! Only a dense idiot would do something like that!

Never tire her in any way: Okay, Yang was kind of confused with that one. What did the woman expect her to do once she met the bassist? Ask her to start running or do push-ups?

However, not once did she voice any of these thoughts.

She had a suspicion that Miss Goodwitch wouldn't be a fan of her jokes, which were basically highly intelligent and amazing jokes.

When the woman left after re-adjusting her glasses, glaring at Yang, and telling her not to be foolish, the blonde couldn't help but think: _Damn… Can't believe Qrow's friends with her…_

Even until now, she couldn't wrap her head around it: Her alcoholic, laidback, _old_ uncle had managed to come acquaintance with… Glynda Goodwitch.

It was then did Yang's ears picked up a sound. It was footsteps. And it was growing closer.

Yang turned around.

The world froze.

It was… it was her.

It… no, she… she was Blake Belladonna… and she was right there.

And she… she was waiting for Yang to say something…

 _Shit! She's waiting for me to say something! Quick! Say something normal!_

"Blake! You were amazing up there! I knew you were gonna look and sound better live!"

 _Umm… brain, when I told you to say something normal, I meant say something that doesn't make me sound like a sociopath or a stalker…_

 _Like A SIMPLE HELLO, perhaps!?_

Red washed over Yang's face. Maybe she was embarrassed that, out of all the things she could've say to the girl, she chose this as her first impression. Or maybe she wasn't embarrassed, but rather… in some kind of shock because she was finally meeting her.

Her smile faltered just a little when she started thinking more rationally.

 _Hey, remember, Blake probably doesn't even remember-_

"YANG?!"

Said girl blinked.

 _Wow, guess I was wrong…_

For seconds that felt like eternity, Yang stared at Blake in shock, shock that Blake, the girl she'd admired for many months - ten months to be exact - recognized her.

The weight on her shoulders had been lifted: Yang's fears of Blake not remembering, much less caring about her didn't come true at all.

 _She… she remembers m- Aww, crap! she's looking at me! Don't just stand there smiling like an idiot! Say something!_

"Y-yeah! That's me!" Yang quickly confirmed, wearing a sheepish grin, running her fingers through her hair. The blonde swallowed a heavy lump before continuing in a hopefully, more confident tone.

"Glad we finally meet face-to-face!" Yang extended her arm towards Blake, careful not to sound too forceful to creep the girl out in any way. "My name's Yang Xiao Long, I'm eighteen, and I'm probably one of your biggest fan!"

The faunus didn't seem to be scared, or even mildly disturbed. In fact, without a word, Blake took Yang's hand and gently shake it, albeit a little weakly.

That made Yang remember something important Glynda had told her earlier. She facepalmed.

"Oh, shi- I mean, crap!" She looked at Blake sympathetically and said understandingly, "You must be tired, let's- let's have a seat, there's a bench over there," she pointed at the right direction, "and I put some of my stuff there."

With a timid smile that caused blood to rush to Yang's cheeks, Blake nodded and said, "Alright, then."

Yang then guided her towards that bench. It wasn't a long walk, but she made sure not to walk too fast.

Blake's jet-black locks of hair briefly brushed over Yang's face as they walked. The blonde's jaw loosened as she thought dreamily, _It's so soft…_ momentarily forgetting that she wasn't actually in a very good dream. She blinked a few times to regain her bearings, trying to appear normal - well, as normal as a person could be when they met their celebrity crush.

Once they arrived at the bench, the blonde made sure there were no dirt or dust or anything that might endanger the musician in any way. It was empty, safe for one white plastic bag.

Yang sat and made room for Blake. She made sure to give her the space Blake needed, not wanting to make her uncomfortable in any way.

Blake seemed a little surprised by the gesture, and flashed her a grateful smile because of it. Yang returned the gesture with a grin.

"So..." Blake said, eyeing her curiously.

Red invaded Yang's cheeks. The blonde was used to people looking at her everyday. She knew that she had the body all women want, and all men desired.

But this wasn't just some people, this was… this was Blake.

"You're really Yang…"

"Yeah!" Yang answered light-heartedly. However, she saw that Blake kept on standing there, looking at her without saying anything, and asked, "Is something wrong?"

Gorgeous amber eyes widened instantly. Blake quickly raised her hands. "No, no, I just didn't expect you to be…" her cheeks darkened just a tiny bit, Yang thought she was just imagining it, "the same age as me…" she finished less gingerly.

The more the blonde thought about it, the more she - sort of - understood why Blake was a little shocked. Yang tried to imagine being in her shoes, and having to meet someone her age saying how much they love her.

It would be a little shocking indeed.

"Oh, yeah, I guess it is kinda weird, isn't it." She then looked at the plastic bag and grinned again. Grabbing it, she pulled out the content inside; a plastic cup of tea. "Here," she said, handing it to Blake. "I brought this for you."

Just like she'd expected, Blake tried to refuse the offer as gently and politely as she could. "Yang," she said with a half-hearted smile, "you don't have to-"

"No, no," Yang interrupted, but not too forcefully. "I want to," she said with a pleading smile. When Blake still wasn't convinced, Yang decided to explain herself.

"Listen, I'm really happy you want to meet me, and I've been a really big fan of you since, well, almost a year or so…" She took a moment to indulge the way the girl's eyes widened at the mention of 'a year'. "So here," she said, gesturing to the cup. "Take it while it's still warm."

Blake was looking at her like she'd changed her whole world - turn it upside down. It was funny, because Blake did the exact same thing to Yang…

Blake was… she was beautiful…

Yang had seen countless pictures of Blake up-close, but none of them could capture what she was seeing right now. Each strand of wavy black hair. The sunset in the girl's gold eyes. Her pale, yet smooth skin.

That was when it really hit her: She was actually meeting Blake Belladonna, the woman she'd dreamt of seeing for months. The woman who'd captured her heart by more than just her looks…

The list of who Blake was to Yang… it would never end.

In her fragile mind, Yang just repeated over and over again; _I'm finally meeting her…_

"Thank you." Blake's voice was dripping with gratefulness, kindness, and a small hint of shyness.

It made Yang's already rapidly beating hard flutter even more.

In fact, the blonde wouldn't be surprised if her heart suddenly jumped out of her own chest.

"No probs!" said Yang, grinning, hoping Blake failed to notice how it cracked and how badly she just concealed it.

Blake took a sip of the drink, and afterwards, gave the cutest reaction Yang had ever seen.

Her intelligent eyes sparkled with delight. Her mouth curled into a shy smile she was no doubt trying to hide. Her ears twitched and actually perked up.

The musician took another, larger gulp of the drink, before parting her lips from the straw. Yang did her best not to look deeply into those lips… Those thin, wet, glossy lips… She did not succeed.

"I take it you're a fan?" Yang said teasingly, trying to distract herself from overthinking how soft Blake's skin looked.

"Yeah," Blake responded with a raised eyebrow. "How'd you know?"

"Eh…" Yang half-shrugged. "Heard from a bunch of _fans_ that you're a _fan_ of tea, so… why not?"

Blake's cheeks flushed a little. A small smile found its way onto her lips. "Thank you, Yang," she said, her head tilting down. "That's very thoughtful of you."

Yang couldn't help but laugh. Out of all the things she'd fantasize about, this was not one of them.

"Hey, c'mon," Yang said, leaning slightly closer towards her. She noticed that the musician didn't mind, and couldn't be happier. "I should be the one thanking you! I mean, right now, you're giving some of your time to meet me, like, that's a _really_ deal thing for me."

Blake smiled at her in a way that would've made her fall over if not for her grip on the bench. "Do I really mean that much to you?"

Yang looked back at her with a frown, as if the girl had said one of the stupidest things in the world. "Uhhh, yeah!? You're like, super amazing Blake! Why wouldn't you mean so much to me?"

Blake looked very taken aback by the words.

The blonde's eyes widened at what she'd just said and looked away, faking a cough. "I mean, you're, um…"

 _Say something NORMAL this time!_

"You're… good."

 _Dammit, that's TOO normal!_

Yang cringed.

If she were a faunus with cat ears, those cat ears would've been flattened.

Her shoulders tensed up. Her heart begged her to look at Blake, to see her, to know what she thought about her now.

But her mind - who was in control of the situation - knew that if she looked at the black beauty, her breaking heart would shatter at the sight of horror painted across Blake's face.

Yang knew she simply couldn't handle seeing Blake's horrified face.

 _Way to go, me…_ She thought bitterly. _You managed to scare off your first real-_

A laugh.

A joyous laugh that rang across the hallway.

A laugh that belonged to Blake Belladonna.

Yang… Yang had never heard it before.

Not in the interviews. Not in Sun or Neptune's instagram live sessions. Not in anything else, never.

… It hit her as to why.

...This… this wasn't a fake laugh.

It was intoxicating; her laugh. A short panting snickers began to form on Yang's mouth. Soon, it turned into chuckles. Soon, it became a full laugh.

Yang didn't know why she was even laughing, nor did it mattered to her. A small part of her told her it was because she saw Blake laughing, so she laughed as well.

She saw Blake being happy, so she was happy as well.

This… Blake's laugh… Yang would only be surprised if she didn't dream about it. It was so… so angelic…

It was music to her ears.

If Yang were told to choose between hearing the heiress's singing voice or Blake laughing, she would, without a doubt, choose the latter.

"So… Yang," Blake said eventually, after the laughter had died down, which didn't happen until quite a long time. "What are you doing in Vale?"

"Oh, I study here!" Yang explained shortly with a charming smile.

"Really?" Blake raised her eyebrow. "What school?"

Yang replied, her voice sounding smaller than before as she ducked her head. "Beacon."

The faunus girl's eyes lit up with wonder. "Wow, that's incredible," she immediately voiced, which made Yang lit up as well - the fact that her idol just complimented her. "What major?" Blake asked as an afterthought.

"Law and management," Yang answered, shrugging sheepishly. She was always, for some reason, a little of a closed-book when it came to her education.

Afterwards, Yang felt the need to ask, "What about you?" Her eyes widened in regret as she recoiled. "I mean, if you go to one, that is…"

Blake's chuckle was all she needed to do for Yang to know that she wasn't at all offended… It was a cute sound, so much so that Yang had to stop trying to prove whatever her point was and observe…

Yang knew she wouldn't forget that chuckle soon, or, at all, really.

In fact, Yang wasn't so sure she'd ever forget this whole event.

"I took online courses," Blake explained. Yang snapped back into reality, blinking a few times, before her mouth formed an 'o'.

 _It makes sense, really. I mean, what else could anyone do when they want to continue their education while also having a career that involves travelling? Yang thought to herself._

"My major is literature."

Yang blinked.

Somehow… it fits.

"So…" Yang frowned, trying to guess what it meant. "You… like writing?" She shrugged at her own question. She didn't know much about literature.

"Mostly reading," Blake countered with a smirk, "actually."

"Oh… That sounds…" Yang's face fell, struggling to find the right words.

"Boring?" Blake looked at her with a mischievous smile. That smile was also disarming as well.

With a playful grin of her own, Yang responded, "I was gonna say… savvy." That earned another, more carefree laugh from the faunus girl. It was contagious, or maybe Yang just needed a laugh herself.

Once it died down, the blonde felt it was appropriate to ask, "Have you published any book yet?" despite knowing what the answer probably would be.

"No." The faunus shook her head, her cat ears bobbing slightly as it did, to which Yang thought was adorable. "Not yet."

"Welp," Yang looked at her with an unfaltering smile. "Be sure to let me know when you did!" The faunus let out a smaller, more subdued chuckle as she nodded.

"What about you?" Yang was genuinely confused at the question.

"Me?" She asked with a tilted head, pointing at herself, not quite understanding why the girl wanted to know more about her life.

"Do you have any hobbies?" It was a simple question, but Yang flinched at it, something she knew the girl must've noticed.

"Hmm… nah, not really." She shrugged. "Well, I used to do boxing with my dad," she added, "but I haven't done that since going to college."

"Ahem," came a cough from just in front of them. It was the manager, Glynda Goodwitch.

… Yang resisted the urge to start running back to her seat… even though this wasn't highschool… and she wasn't a highschool student anymore… The manager gave off a very strong teacher vibe.

"Visiting time is over," she said sternly, narrowing her eyes at Yang. "Blake needs to go and rest."

Yang's eyes widened before narrowing down again as she nodded in understanding.

It pained Yang, it really pained her, but she knew Blake needed her rest.

Yang didn't want to say goodbye. But she knew when was the time to try to get what she wanted and when to simply let it be.

"But," Blake complained, "Miss Goodwitch-"

"Blake," Yang cut off, surprising the girl and her manager. "It's alright," she said sternly, using the same tone she'd use to Ruby whenever she overworked herself, leaving no room for arguments. "You must be really tired, so, you should get some sleep."

At the mention of needing to rest, Blake looked at the time from her phone and bit her lip indecisively. Yang simply gave her a smile, silently telling her that she won't be mad with whatever decision Blake chose.

"You sure?" the faunus asked, making sure.

"Yep!" she said with the 'p' popping, making sure not to sound hurt in the slightest bit.

After all, Blake's rest was more important than her.

"...Fine." The musician gave up eventually, but the other two female could tell that she was still on-edge about it. So Glynda stepped in and decided to give her some comfort as well, as hidden as it may be.

"Don't worry, Blake, you won't leave for another few days," the emerald-eyed woman said, a small yet gentle smile on her lips.

"We can still chat," Yang suggested, then faltered slightly, continuing in a much more insecure tone, "... Right, Blake?"

"Of course!" Blake answered too quickly with a much more energetic tone than the blonde thought.

"Alright," Yang said in a soft tone. "That's good to hear…"

Blake responded determinedly as she stood up. "We'll see each other again, I promise."

Yang wore an easy-going smile, watching as Glynda slowly guided Blake towards the exit. She wore a fake smile. "I hope so," she whispered to herself, voice so small she knew that, even with Blake's extra ears, the faunus wasn't able to hear her.

"Bye Blake! Bye Miss Goodwitch!" She waved gingerly, making sure to give them both her best un-flirty smile.

"See you later, Yang," Blake responded, her voice echoing from the other side. Yang's smile grew larger, turning into a real one.

 _She didn't say goodbye._

"Goodbye, Yang," Glynda said warmly. With a hint of playfulness, she added, "Tell your uncle to stop drinking."

Even from this distance, Yang could see the confusion etched on Blake's face as her head turned to look at the manager, ears flickering down.

Yang laughed at that. Now she believed Glynda really were friends with her uncle. "Will do, Miss."

And with that, they were gone.

As if everything that had happened… didn't actually happen.

 _Except it did, though,_ Yang thought.

The smile still present on her face proved it.

Looking down at the bench, she spotted an empty cup and a plastic bag.

 _It happened,_ Yang thought, seeing a small tea bag inside that cup.

After all, the girl wasn't a big fan of tea.

Then, lilac eyes spotted something small on the floor. She picked it up and her smile grew even more.

It was a dark purple pick.

 _That really happened,_ she thought, looking at the biggest proof of them all.

 _My dream really came true… I… I got to meet Blake Belladonna…_

* * *

 **Author's Notes : I wanted this chapter to be really focused on Yang's thoughts and her and Blake's dialogues. I don't want to distract the audience from the first and important meeting.**

 **So… that's why this chapter has 4000 words instead of the usual 5000.**

 **Please tell me what you think of the meeting. Is it good? Is the characters still in character? Is it too dry and boring? Yaiks, I'm really nervous right now!**

 **The meeting of the two of the most important characters in my story, the main ship, Bumblebee. Crap, if I mess this up then… as Heather Chandler once said… Fuck me gently with a chainsaw.**

* * *

 **Night Flare : Hehehe, if you think Ruby is cute in this chapter, wait for the next one! Weiss is totally gonna… melt your heart! Eyyy! Get it?**

 **Wolf eyes : Haha, thanks! I… hope I didn't disappoint you?**


	4. In the Night

Blake was tired.

In fact, if not for the fact that she knew how painful it was to fall, she would've dropped down to the ground only so she could shut her eyes and brain.

One of her shoulders ached more than the other. She blamed the dulling pain on Weiss, even if the girl claimed she had nothing to do with this. Blake knew she had something to do with it, in fact, she was the whole reason why her shoulder ached. She just didn't remember.

And her legs and arms. Dust, it was like they were made out of bricks... and someone put _cement_ on them. Standing up from the car seat was hard. Walking towards the dark building was harder. Standing up, waiting for Glynda to finish talking with the receptionist - for a reason she was too tired to know - was agonizingly hard. And now, staring at the door, trying not to fall unconscious was… mentally-challenging.

Dust. She was tired. She could count more than with her hands on how many times she'd yawned. She didn't even care about covering those yawns with her mouth. She didn't care if she looked un-ladylike or acted improper.

She was just... so damn _tired._

But, her exhaustion was almost nothing compared to Weiss Schnee's: The girl who ate too little before the show - claiming they would disrupt her vocal chords. The girl who had the smallest rest and did many over the top works that put such a strain on her body.

The girl who literally was the _smallest_ member in the band.

Blake couldn't imagine how much exhaustion weighed the girl. She also couldn't comprehend how the girl could still - somewhat - act as if she wasn't tired.

Blake's proof of exhaustion was the bags under her eyes, the look on her face that said 'Separate me from my sleep and I'll _kill_ you', and the yawns she let out several times.

But Weiss… hers was proved solidly by literally falling asleep on the spot _multiple_ times.

Most of the times, it happened when they were in the car on their way to the hotel.

Blake was enjoying the alien view - the view of Vale when the moon arisen, when she noticed a sudden weigh on her shoulder.

Looking at it, she saw that the weigh was a slumbering Weiss Schnee.

Of course, Blake tried to push her for several reasons. She didn't want to be in more discomfort than presently, which was what would happen if she let Weiss use half of her body as a pillow.

The faunus pushed her off without (thankfully) waking her up. And when all looked well, she looked away contentedly, only to frown when she felt the same weigh on her shoulder again.

Looking down, her fears were confirmed when she saw, yet again, the white-haired girl that had nodded off.

Blake grumbled and tried to separate the girl's head from her collar, only for her glare to deepen when, like a magnet, Weiss' head fell onto her again.

With a sigh that not at all spoke of gratify nor tranquil, she decided to let the girl be comfortable, even when she had to endure the rest of the ride in anything but.

When they'd arrived, Blake didn't have to do anything for the girl's eyes to open. The girl awaken herself, possibly because of the car stopping.

Or she was… at least partially awake.

Blake had come to learn on this night that, just because someone's eyes were open, did _not_ necessarily mean they were awake.

There was a lot of tapping on the shoulders, trying to comprehend incoherent words, preventing the girl from walking to the wrong door or a wall, and considering whether she should just carry the barely conscious girl.

Those things, and lots of more, was how, currently, Blake found herself alongside Weiss and Glynda, standing in the corridor of the 4th floor of the hotel they would be staying.

Blake stared at the door handle, expecting to, telepathically, open it by her mind. Maybe if she tried hard enough it just might work…

Her strained brain only told her to complete two very important missions: Find a bed, and sleep on it.

Glynda opened the door for them, Blake was first met with a brilliantly-combined colors of dusky-nightshade and snowy-white.

Blake's missions had to be put on hold as she went inside, realising that this wasn't just another hotel room.

This was… this was a very massive hotel room.

A small corridor presented itself right in front of the entrance, and beneath those walls were their actual room.

On each edge were placed two single-beds with a small drawer next to it. In between those beds were a giant window that revealed the enormous view of the city. On the one side was a door which - she presumed - led to the bathroom. On the other was a flat 40-inch TV completed with a homely-looking sofa.

Blake was gobsmacked, awestruck, just… _in shock_ of what she was seeing.

And she was having a hard time believing that she were to sleep in this room that looked like it was supposed to be for some royalty…

Her observation had to be put on hold when she heard the rustling sound of a chair being pulled. Her head moved just in time to see Weiss throwing herself into a chair that was far too big for her, putting both of her arms on the desk, burying her face in it, likely already asleep.

"Before you ask," Glynda started to explain, Blake's head snapped back at her, having forgotten that she was in the room with them this whole time. "Yes, this will be where you'll be staying for the next few days. Apparently, the room where you originally were supposed to be staying has a… water issue of sorts, so, they offered us this in exchange."

Glynda re-adjusted her glasses in a teacher-like manner before her eyes narrowed down as she inspected the room with her keen eyes.

Blake frowned. _Water issue… what?_ But she didn't have time to fully think things through, her manager continuing her explanation.

"Sun and Neptune's room is right in front of yours," she said, her finger stroking the desk, bringing it up to her face, as if searching for a deadly type of dust. "I will not tolerate any of you straining yourself too much, is that clear?"

"Yes, Miss Goodwitch," Blake answered, nodding her head.

"Of course, Miss-" Weiss was unable to suppress a yawn, the rest of her sentence sounded gibberish and slurred. Blake could only pick up "Don't worry" and "Mandatory."

... What the girl was trying to say, Blake could never understand… nor even want to understand.

Glynda held the white-haired girl's shoulder, squeezing it as she gazed down at the girl with a soft look on her face.

"Get some rest," she said, concern very palpable she couldn't hide it even if she tried.

Weiss bobbed her head wordlessly, obviously struggling to keep herself awake.

Glynda's gaze fell onto Blake.

Motherly forest-green eyes met worn out shade of yellow.

Her manager gave her a small nod, wordlessly telling her what she'd told Weiss.

No words needed to be said, not with how late it was, and certainly not with how tired _she_ was.

Soon, the woman left the two members alone to their own devices.

… Only now did Blake realise how pleasant the silence was. How mystifying the view was, even from where she stood. How much thought was poured into every inch of the room; the color, the choice of furniture, the designs, everything.

There was a yellow sunflower design painted on one of the desks - the hue of yellow reminding her of a certain someone with a glowing mane of gold.

Someone with the name of Yang Xiao Long.

Someone who wasn't very far from every young teenage girl's dream guy, even though she wasn't a male… not that Blake was complaining.

She was stunning… even a blind man could see that.

Those locks of curly glowing yellow hair, if that didn't put the sun to shame, then her personality certainly did.

Of course, she was a little nervous, claiming that she was one of Blake's biggest fan. Blake was touched, hearing that she wasn't a fan of her band, but herself specifically… she was also very confused at that fact.

How could someone like Yang admire her? And why?

What was even more bewildering was how considerate the blonde was in… well, everything she did and said.

How she'd suggested they should stay on the bench because she knew how tired Blake was. How hesitant and shy she sounded when speaking about how much respect she had towards Blake.

And… how thoughtful she was by buying her her favourite kind of drink.

Yang was… Blake needed to know more about her, it felt wrong not to.

It wasn't everyday she get to meet a stunning woman telling her how much she loved her performance.

Blake quickly opened her phone, going into her instagram and checking the blonde's account, only to curse internally when she'd forgotten that the girl's account was private.

Without a second thought, nor doubt, nor hesitation, Blake tapped the follow button, and stared.

She waited.

Those second thoughts, doubts, and hesitations started to catch up to her, the pile of worry growing.

"C'mon Blake, let's get to work!"

Blake had to blink twice to fully confirm that she wasn't dreaming, and the girl truly wanted to unpack even with the time and her state.

"What?"

"Unpack," announced Weiss, her words quickly followed by another yawn, walking as sluggish as a zombie towards where someone - possibly the roomboy - had placed their suitcases.

"Umm… Weiss?" Blake said, her arm outstretched to the girl. She had an idea as to what the heiress wanted to do. And she did _not_ like that idea.

"What?" The girl managed to sound confident even with how tired she must be. Blake was almost impressed, if not for the fact that what she hoped to do was terrifyingly stupid.

Weiss' tiny arms grabbed the handle of her light-blue suitcase which was half the size of her… not so tall body.

"I really think we should unpack in the morning." 'Weiss, I think that if you attempt to lift that suitcase, you _will_ get crushed,' was what she actually wanted to say, but she knew that saying the truth would be a death sentence.

After all, this was Weiss she was thinking of. No matter how tired she was or how far away a person was from her, if that person insulted her pride in any way, she'd make them pay.

She'd seen it firsthand.

… Poor Sun…

"Nonsense," said Weiss as she started to pull the not so lightweight… said weight dropped not even a second later.

Weiss emminated a growl so animalistic and enraged Blake almost believed she was a lion faunus.

The grips tightened, but before the girl could try lifting again, Blake grabbed her wrist softly, yet it still caused the girl to flinch. Once she realised it was only Blake, she let some of her guard down, frown softening vaintly.

"We'll unpack in the morning, alright?" Blake said, rubbing circles on the girl's arm, looking at her expectantly.

There was still doubt in those pools of icy blue.

Blake swallowed before realising the girl's hand. Weiss simply stood there, frozen, unwilling to continue with the task she'd previously wanted to accomplish by this night.

She opened the girl's suitcase, ignoring the glare her friend gave her for doing so without permission. Blake scoured in the girl's things, ignoring her yawny words that somewhat sounded like, "What're you doing?"

Internally, she comically shouted _Aha!_ when she found what she was looking for.

It was a light-blue nightgown with a small snowflake emblem on the chest, right where her heart should be.

Weiss' favourite, if Blake remembered correctly.

"Here," she said, holding the gown for the girl to see. She saw those orbs of blue widened when she perceived what she was seeing. Blake silently congratulated herself for picking the girl's favourite nightgown, and that, in fact, it truly was her favourite nightgown.

Glazed blue eyes narrowed. Blake could practically see the logical and statistical way she was thinking like; weighing the pros and cons, figuring out which choice would benefit her more.

 _Even when she's tired she still acts like this,_ Blake thought solemnly. But she supposed that, to an heiress like Weiss, this was something closely resembling to second-nature. Something she'd done as long as she could remember.

Something that had been drilled into her since birth.

The singer's answer became obvious when a yawn slipped past her mouth.

"Fine…" she mumbled irritatedly, taking her sleeping dress with weak arms, and walking to the bathroom.

Blake deadpanned. Sometimes the girl could be _so_ stubborn.

There was a buzz coming from her phone, indicating there was a notification of sorts. Peering at the device, Blake realised that it was a message from Yang.

Her hands were getting a little clammier as she unlocked her phone, mind wondering what the blonde would like to say. Many scenarios - although, admittedly, impossible ones - were stacking up in her temple, which was why she felt a little underwhelmed when she actually read the message.

 ** _Hey Blakey, i found ur pick, sooo… when should i give it 2 u? U know, the thing u use to strum n stuff_**

Blake raised an eyebrow and started fishing for her pick in her pockets, true to what the girl had said, her pick was not where she left it.

She shrugged uncaringly as she typed in: **_Ooh, thats okay, u can have it :)_**

She turned off her phone afterwards, and put it in a nearby desk.

As much as she really wanted to chat with the sunny girl, she had work to do.

With her stiff noodly arms, she dragged both of their suitcases near the dresser, and opened the one belonging to her.

She searched and searched until she found her sleepwear, a simple-designed dark grey yukata.

She changed her clothes right there, knowing there was nothing to fear when no one would be able to see her like this… except for, maybe Weiss, but they were best friends, so she didn't care.

When she was done changing, she noticed something peculiar. Weiss hadn't come out of the bathroom.

"Weiss?" she called out, leaning against the wall next to the bathroom door, cat ears perking up to hear anything unusual. "Are you done?"

There wasn't any sound of reply directed at Blake herself, but there was, however, a few set of sounds: Angry mutterings and something zipping or unzipping - she couldn't tell the difference.

 _She must still be taking off her clothes_ , Blake thought as she bit her lip.

The faunus wondered if she should offer the poor girl some help, guessing how hard it must be to try and take off her clothing with what state she was in.

Blake kicked herself from the wall and slowly walked away, deciding she may be able to busy herself by chatting Yang.

Turning her phone on, she noticed Yang had already replied her message.

 ** _OMG really? 0_o dont u like need it to play or somthing_**

Blake chuckled at her hesitance. With nothing but honesty, she replied easily: **_Dont worry, you can keep it, i can just buy a new 1_**

Blake turned off her phone and looked to the bathroom, perceiving how Weiss _still_ hadn't walked out of the bathroom.

Her worry grew.

"Weiss?" she called out, already in front of the door only after some moment. "Are you okay in there?"

Leaning her head against the door, gluing her ears onto it, she could very clearly hear Weiss' complaints.

"Damn it! _Stupid_ , expensive boots! Why does it have to be so- argh! Complicated!"

 _Alright, this has gone off for too long,_ Blake thought to herself with a deep frown, twisting the door handle, momentarily surprised when the door actually opened.

She sighed at what she saw.

Weiss' ponytail was discarded, her soft silver hair flowing down freely, covering half of her back and the upper part of her face.

She sat in the toilet seat in nothing but her bra and underwear - both had the color of her name - and was clearly having trouble with separating her boots from her feet.

She kept tugging and pulling the fabric out with little thought and lots of fury, so much so that she didn't even notice Blake's presence.

Or she did, and just didn't care.

Blake quickly walked towards her, but cautiously. Gently, she placed her fingers on the girl's shoulder, letting the girl know that she was here with her.

Much to her dismay, Weiss flinched at her soft and gentle touch, even if only for a moment.

When blue eyes met amber, the masked concern on Weiss' face disappeared, and was replaced with confusion.

Weiss didn't even complain that Blake had walked in without permission, especially with her state of half-dressed.

Blake took that as a good sign.

However, when she bent her knees and reached out towards the girl's trouble in a form of a pair of boots, Weiss gave her a hard glare and leaned away from her.

"No, I can do this."

Blake bit her lip, hesitating, not of what she should do, but what she should say. "Weiss, I-"

"I'm the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, I _must_ handle this by myself," the girl blurted out, voice cracking just slightly, maybe because because of the many energy and time she dedicated herself in singing…

Maybe not.

Blake looked at her worryingly, eyebrows knitted together, lips thinned, teeth clenching together.

She was worried for Weiss.

Since she knew the truth about how the girl felt about her own heritage, she started worrying for her.

Even if the girl tried to cover all of her pain with a cold attitude, Blake saw through that false façade… and she worry.

No matter how hard the girl pretended that she was okay, or that she could handle this, or that she didn't need any help…

Blake knew what those truly were; a pretend.

She knew that, ever since Weiss could remember, there was a heavy burden forced to be put on her tiny shoulders.

She knew Weiss was expected to carry a burden. One that, if she tried to deny, could cause her to lose many things she tried so hard to built.

She knew that that burden was what caused the girl to built a wall. Or maybe she never built it in the first place. Maybe many people who'd claimed to do this for her own good had built that wall.

Even if that wall isolated her.

Even if she couldn't handle it alone.

Weiss had been put through so much things even from such a young age. It caused her to believe that she shouldn't need any help.

Blake _really_ wanted to prove her wrong.

"Weiss."

Said girl looked at her, tired, scared. Blake gave her a gentle smile, tucking one white strand of hair, never breaking eye-contact.

"It's okay if you need help, you know." Her gaze on the girl hardened, showing she meant every word. "All you have to do is ask, and I'll come."

Weiss' bangs covered her eyes as she tilt her head down. Her voice a whisper, she said, "... Please, help me take off my boots."

Blake's face softened. Her gaze no longer filled with concern nor worry, replaced by a sense of pride that - while Weiss still believed she was alone - she began to understand that Blake would never try to hurt her.

Slowly, but surely, Weiss was learning.

"I will."

Blake bent her knee, unzipping the girl's boots and pulling it out of her feet, careful not to cause any discomfort nor mild pain.

She then picked up the girl's nightgown and fixed a gaze on the girl, holding it firmly.

There was a wordless communication as fragile blue met determined amber.

Then, reluctantly, Weiss sighed and nodded, giving Blake the permission to put on her nightgown.

"You don't have to do this, you know," came the mumble from the weak girl, her cheeks a hue of pink.

"You're right," Blake replied easily. "But I want to."

"You're like a sister to me." A voice exhaled.

It wasn't Blake's.

A warm feeling emerged on the girl's chest - one that was pleasant, yet, very confusing.

"Don't you have one already?" she asked wittily.

"Ye-" A yawn cut her words. "Yeah, but…" The girl rubbed her eyes, her shoulders drooping. "...Still…" She finished, her words getting less coherent.

Blake knew it was the rightly appropriate time to declare, "Time for bed."

She put an arm on the girl's shoulder, leading her towards her bed, in case that, if she didn't, the heiress would lead herself towards a brick-wall.

She then watched as the heiress lay on the bed and attempted to tuck herself in.

Keyword; attempted.

With a roll of her eyes, she helped the white-haired girl cover herself. The thickly soft fabric hugging her small body.

It was amazing really, how different Weiss looked now than she did hours ago.

Hours ago, she was Weiss Schnee, the proud heiress of the largest company in all of Remnant and the lead singer in Hunters and Huntresses.

Now, she was… she was nothing but a sleepy little girl. One that Blake deeply cared for.

"Goodnight, Weiss."

Sleep began to seep into the girl, forcing her eyes to flutter, slowly closing.

Her breathing became deep and slow… more relaxed.

"Mm… night… Blake…"

The girl's face became more neutral; more serene, as sleep fully took her consciousness away.

Moments later, she was in the world of slumber.

Blake wished nothing would disturb the girl from her rest.

Knowing that she'd accomplished her mission on putting the singer to sleep, Blake's attention slowly diverted into her phone.

Just as she hoped, there was another message from Yang.

 ** _OMGGGGG :D THANK UUUU! I wont lose it! Promissee!_**

Blake sat on her bed, leaning against the wall, putting a pillow in-between.

She smiled widely as she replied: **_No problem :)_**

She really wanted to see the blonde's face, but since Yang wasn't actually near her, she decided to do the alternative.

Looking at every single picture the girl posted on instagram.

Blake was surprised to see that the girl had two thousand followers on instagram.

It might not be that many, but considering that Yang wasn't an actress - because Blake had googled her name earlier and there were no results saying that she was - it was pretty impressive.

Her latest post was a selfie of her smiling, posted a week ago.

Blake blushed deeply, mentally scolding herself for awwing that picture for far too long.

Many of her posts were selfies as well.

Some was of her with a few of who Blake assumed was her friends.

A few was a picture of her with a silver-eyed girl with short brown hair with a tip of red.

They appeared to be… close. One was a picture of Yang tackling the girl in a hug. The other was her rustling the smaller girl's hair.

Blake wondered who that girl was.

Then, the faunus found a video in the many pictures on the girl's account.

Curious, she decided to watch it.

It was a video set in what appeared to be a café. There was that brunette again, sitting in a chair, holding an acoustic guitar, smiling nervously as her eyes flickered between the camera, the few people that surrounded her, and her instrument.

" _C'mon Rubes, you can do it,"_ Yang's muddled voice said. Blake realised who was holding the camera.

The girl's eyes looked at the camera, or rather, at the girl holding it. And a thumb appeared on the corner of the screen, indicating that Yang was giving her a thumbs up.

The brunette released a shaky breath, undoubtedly mentally preparing herself… before she started playing the instrument.

… The music she was playing… Dust, it was just… unbelievable.

The girl - whoever she was - used the guitar in ways no one had ever even _dreamt_ of.

She tapped the body, creating a sound used as a percussion.

All of the strings were played. The deeper strings were used as a bass of sorts, and the higher ones as the melody.

Her fingers moved vastly, Blake had a hard time seeing where they were.

She did all of that at the same time.

It was phenomenal…

Blake never saw anything like this before…

… This young girl clearly _was_ very talented.

The video was over. Blake snapped back into reality moments later and continue scrolling down, wanting to see more of the blonde and her… friend.

More images of the blonde caused Blake to remember her vivid short memories with her.

The faunus really wanted to talk to the girl again. And she knew Yang felt the same, or, at least she hoped so.

 _I'm really gonna regret this,_ she told herself, going into her message, starting to type.

After many deletings and hesitations later, she sent the text.

 ** _Say, Yang, R U free 2morrow?_**

It was simple… too simple…

 _Damn it!_ she cursed herself. _What if she-_

A buzz.

Blake looked down. It was a message from Yang.

 ** _Yup!~ wanna go somewhere? anywhere? hang out? :p_**

Blake had never been more ecstatic in her whole life.

 ** _Yeah, actually_ ,** her reply read, **_I was hoping maybe we can… idk, talk again :) if u want, i mean_**

Ten seconds later, her phone vibrated yet again.

 ** _Of course i wanna talk to ya! XD ure super cool! When should we meet up?_**

After stopping herself from thinking that Yang just described her as cool was a big deal, Blake typed in her reply, although a bit slower.

 ** _I'm still kinda new here, how about you decide…..._**

It took a surprisingly short time before the blonde gave her reply. Blake thought that just showed how ecstatic she was.

 ** _Hmmmm... Ohh! Got it! I know the place! Ur defs gonna love it!_**

Moments later, just before Blake was about to send her message, asking what the blonde was thinking of and in which place they should meet up, Yang sent another message.

 ** _We'll meet up at the concert-building place! Sound good?_**

Blake raised an eyebrow, wondering what the girl had in mind.

 _ **Oky, when?** _was her short message.

Moments later, Yang sent her message, much to Blake's delight.

 ** _I thinkk… 12? That good?_**

Blake smiled as she typed in her message: **_Yeah! Sounds great!_**

She didn't care if she sounded too excited or clingy.

Blake suddenly let out a long yawn, tears not of sadness forming in her eyes.

The faunus looked at the time and felt a little guilty when she realised it was already almost 11.

She typed in regrettably, **_Its getting a bit late, so… see u tomorrow Yang…_**

But she didn't turn off her phone. Not yet. Not until she read the blonde's reply.

It took seconds, but it felt much longer. And when she read the blonde's message, she found herself smiling.

 ** _Oohh, right2, my bad! Night Blakee! Sweet dreamss!_**

Blake, very hesitantly, turned off her phone, knowing that if she replied the girl's message, she'd still be texting the girl hours later.

She pulled her own covers, and put her arms beneath her head afterwards, staring at the ceiling.

Tomorrow seemed so close, yet, so far away. She deeply wished she had the ability to fast forward time itself, just so she could meet up with the girl faster.

 _Yang…_

The girl was… many things… Blake had only met the girl for a few minutes - half an hour at most, yet, she was already intrigued.

Those bright pools of lilac. That smile which made all of her problems disappear.

She thought of many things as her eyes closed.

About the girl.

About what they could become.

About tomorrow...

… The girl smiled even in her sleep.

* * *

 **Author's Notes : Soo, hope you enjoy my story… sorry if it took a while, school's starting to get serious and, yeah… I didn't have the time, and when I did, I used that mainly for rest… :p**

 **I realised that, after re-reading it, the last parts were kinda a bit short, but I hope that doesn't make it any less fun for you to read :)**

 **The next chapter is gonna be lively, that is what I can promise you!**

 **You'll get more flustered Yang, more cute Ruby, and more fluff!**

 **Tell me what you think of this chapter! I really love reading your reviews! They really make me happy! Even if it's just like, two words or something!**

 **As always, thank you, and goodbye!**

* * *

 **0: Hey thanks! If you're wondering, this isn't actually based off of real life, at least, I didn't base this off of anything that actually happened, although I sometimes find myself comparing Yang and Blake's (future) relationship with that of Dan and Phil, especially with how Dan Howell was a fan of Phil Lester, and yet now they're best friends!**

 **But I really want to make this feel so realistic, but also still fun!**

 **Also, I noticed you left a comment in H &D, asking if it's up for adoption… care to explain? :T**

 **Z: I'm glad you liked it! XD And don't worry, in the next chapter, you'll get to see more Ruby crushing on Weiss!**

 **M: Thanks! I'm glad you think so! :D**

 **Wolf eyes: So... do you like it? Their encounter, I mean? :)**


	5. In the Morning

Yang woke up in a way she never did ever since school started making no sense; with a smile.

Like an unrealistic representation of a teenager from a children's TV show, she hopped off a bed and started humming a happy tune.

Which was very unusual because of - despite her name precisely meaning Sun Dragon - she was never an early riser.

… Who wouldn't blame her? Everyone loved sleeping.

The first thing she did after she was away from her bed was to find her phone. It took awhile, because she forgot to turn on the lamps and her room was as tidy as a plane that crashed, but eventually, she found it.

 _ **Goooooodddd mooorninnnggg~~~~!** _

She sent that text to Blake.

The woman more than just an idol, nor a crush, nor even of her dream. The woman who was all of that, and much more.

The woman that had become the star of her dark blue sky. The sun that chased all the darkness away.

The woman she would see again today.

The very idea itself sent adrenaline throughout her whole body.

Her actions this morning was much different from all of her other mornings. She hummed one of the tunes from the concert even as she washed her face and brushed her teeth.

She was going to take a cool shower, but decided it was too early when, looking at the window, realised that the sun hadn't rise yet.

She hummed a joyful tune and resisted the urge to skip to her kitchenette, fearing she would wake her sister.

Yang froze momentarily, however, when she saw a figure sitting on a chair in her very apartment.

"WHAT THE FU-" The grip she previously had on her door handle weakened immensely. From the shock, she lost her balance and swayed.

… Her two hands tightly gripping the door frame was the only thing keeping her from falling.

Lilac eyes, in a frantic, looked up at the person. Her gaze softened in relief when finding those silver eyes staring back at her.

The blonde regained what balance she had and took a deep breath, calming herself down.

Leaning against the doorframe, with her hand on her chest, panting heavily, she said between breaths, "Frick… Ruby... " After swallowing a lump in her throat, she continued, "You scared the shoot out of me!"

Blindly, she reached out for the lights, and, when found, hit it on, revealing a blank-faced Ruby, sitting relaxedly, headphones placed down around her neck.

"... Yang," she said, looking down at the blonde, frown deepening, "you do realise that I'm not twelve anymore, right? You _can_ curse in front of me."

"That's not-" Yang shook her head, finding how unimportant that was. "Ruby! Why are you up this early!?" She looked at the window, and surely enough, the sky was still an ocean blue, indicating that the sun barely started to rise.

She looked back at the girl and found that she was wearing a smirk that said 'Why am I not surprised?'

"Why are you?" Ruby shot back.

Yang frowned at her, not knowing the answer herself. "I don't know," she stated honestly with a shrug. "Guess I'm still pretty pumped from yesterday…"

She raised a quizzical eyebrow when Ruby let out a laugh, a short but genuine one. "Me too!" She threw her hands up. "Weiss' voice is super amazing! I really wished the show didn't end, like, at all!"

Yang smiled. "Don't we all?"

"But, like," the little brunette explained, "Weiss' voice is so… just, great! I've been listening almost non-stop since I got back!"

The blonde was not at all surprised with how her little sister acted. In fact, it made her think about herself, back when she first found out about Blake Belladonna all those months ago.

It brought back memories.

However, the way her sister had told her about listening to the band puzzled her.

 _Since she got back?_ Yang repeated in her head.

Yang looked - really looked - at her sister, or, more specifically, the faint bags over her eyes and the headphones around her neck, which, she now noticed, still played music.

"Just what are you listening to?" she inquired.

Ruby, in response, grinned triumphantly, proudly even, and merely showed the blonde her phone, revealing a playlist of musics.

Yang walked closer with narrowed eyes to better see what the girl was trying to show her.

She read the list of songs, and very soon realised…

"This is Hunters and Huntresses' songs!"

"Bingo!" Ruby finger-gunned her. "I downloaded all of Weiss' songs! Every. Version. Originals, uncensored, covers, acoustics; everything!"

She smiled ear-to-ear maniacally, practically vibrating in her seat.

… It was both very familiar and very terrifying, Yang noted with wary eyes.

"But Rubes," she slowly said. "Doesn't it take, like, super long to download each song?"

Ruby gave her a sheepish grin. "Well… thankfully," the girl gave her a half-shrug devoid of any certainty, "I wasn't tired at all?"

"Ruby…"

The young girl flinched at her angry motherly tone and started playing with the hem of her shirt, breaking eye-contact.

Yang crossed her arms and glared at her.

"Did you pull an all-nighter?"

Seconds later, suspicious lilac met guilty silver.

"... Would you believe me if I say no?" A poke to the forehead spoke more than words ever could. "Ow!"

Ignoring her sister's cry of pain, Yang said with a sigh, "I should be mad at you." She looked down at her now pouting sister, "But…" The blonde massaged her temples, "You don't have any classes, so I'm letting you off the hook."

"Gee, thanks," Ruby said, her tone conveying how grateful she actually was… which was… not at all grateful.

"Hey," Yang looked at her, resisting the urge to pinch the girl's puffy cheeks. "You're lucky I don't cut off your cookie allowance!"

Ruby gasped quite dramatically. "You wouldn't _dare!_ " she accused, tone suggesting how serious she was being.

And she literally was being serious.

With disinterested eyes, Yang knelt down so she was face-to-face with the young girl.

"Try me," she whispered huskily, lowly.

Ruby opened her mouth, and, moments later, closed it.

Yang knew she'd hit the right spot: Ruby couldn't risk doing anything reckless… well, not when it came to her delicious doughs.

Yang raised her index finger and warned, "Never do it again, you hear me? No staying up all nights, even if you have no classes, it's not good for you."

"But you do it all the time!" Ruby whined, crossing her arms. "Why don't I get to do all the cool stuff all the other girls do?"

Yang gave her sister a glare. But that glare softened, turning her face into one of somberness. "Being reckless isn't cool. Partying all night isn't cool. And drinking certainly isn't cool." Her voice wasn't loud, but it was firm and strong. It was commanding.

"Don't _ever_ think that wasting your life is cool."

Ruby stared back at her guiltily, like a child caught stealing a candy. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice fragile as feather.

A small, tired smile engraved itself on her lips.

"I'm not mad at you," she reassured. "It's just…" A deep sigh. "I worry about you, you know. You're a smart kid, and you've got lots of potentials. I don't want you to waste it."

Ruby looked down.

"Me neither…" she whispered.

Yang leaned down, putting one hand on top of the girl's head, the other tucking a strand of dark-brown hair. She gave her sister a kiss on the forehead.

Ruby didn't complain.

"Don't be stupid, okay?" she softly asked the young girl.

Ruby looked up at her and gave a snicker. "Please," Ruby scoffed playfully. "That's impossible, I'm not you."

… It took Yang a few seconds before she realised what her sister just flat-out said.

"Hey! I'll have you know that I'm one of the best students at Beacon!"

"Most popular, maybe," Ruby countered easily.

This time, it was Yang's turn to pout. "What's wrong with being both smart and popular?"

"Besides it making you look like an OP character from a cheesy anime?" Ruby put her index finger on her chin, eyes darting to the left as she made a humming noise.

"Anime?" Yang mouthed in almost soundless voice, not understanding what words the girl was saying.

She didn't have time to ask anything, however, because Ruby already resumed explaining her rant that only made sense half of the time.

"It's also unbalancing. It's like... you can't have both vanilla and chocolate icing on your cake, it's too much, it tastes weird, and nobody thinks it's legal."

Yang frowned, she really didn't know what to think of her sister's rambling… sometimes she thought her sister had super-speed, that would surely explain her _very_ quick-thinking.

"...Did you just say both 'cake' and 'illegal' in the same sentence?"

"Well," still in the midst of her thoughts, unfazed by her sister's confusion, Ruby kept going on and on. "I guess it's not illegal, per se, but it is frowned upon! Like saying pineapple on pizza is good, or, saying Weiss isn't the most beautiful girl on the planet! Because it's just wrong!"

Ruby stopped. Her eyes widened. Her cheeks reddened.

Yang smirked.

"Did you just say what I think you just say?"

"...No?" Ruby tried to deny. But it was impossible to do so when her voice suddenly belonged to an 8 year old's.

Yang's eyes momentarily widened, an invisible light-bulb flickering on a top of her head.

She gave out what was most definitely the shittiest-eating grin anyone had ever seen before, and said, broadly and proudly, "Whoa, you really love her, don't you!"

She wished her voice was low and slow so she sounded calm and cool. But, more or less, Yang was proud of the result her words created.

"Wha-?!" Ruby literally staggered backwards, which was, apparently, possible to do so despite her being in a chair.

"I mean, it's not- I don't-..." Yang could literally see something clicking in those silver pools. "...Did you just use my words against me?"

"Yup~!" Yang sung merrily, glad that her sister finally caught on with her words.

"... I hate you."

The older sibling grinned. "No, you don't."

Yang walked towards the kitchen cabinet and grabbed a cereal box from it. A minute later, she presented herself with a bowl of rainbow-colored cereal and milk.

Ruby smirked. "You know, Dad won't approve of you eating cereals for breakfast." She snickered. "You know, since you're officially an _adult_."

Yang shrugged, putting a spoon on the bowl. "Eh, it's not like he'll know, plus," she grabbed the now empty box, pointing at the image of the cartoonish-looking tiger mascot with a grin. "This shit's delicious! I don't get why people want to eat those lame butter toasts when they can have _this!_ "

The brunette let out a whole-hearted chuckle. "Yeah," she agreed with a nod, "people are weird."

Yang checked the time, finding it to be - unfortunately - only 8.15, while her… friendly-meeting with Blake was supposed to occur at 12.

Thinking about her plans led her to ask, "Oh, by the way Rubes, do you think Blake would like me better if I was wearing a scarf or a top hat?"

Yang had pondered about it.

The season was summer, and although the weather was tepid at best, meant that the wiser choice would be to wear a hat to avoid the heat, if it ever came at all.

But, what looked more fashionable was a scarf. And although (contrary to popular belief) Yang's motto wasn't 'dress to impress' yet she felt that, only on this day, it was.

"What?"

She failed to notice the clear shock presented on the young girl's voice.

"You know," she sulked, still musing over which accessory to wear, "since we're meeting up at noon, I think it'll be better if-"

"Wait, what?!" This time, Yang did notice her shock, only because the young girl shouted those words on top of her lungs to the point where it would be a surprise if _none_ of the neighbors checked up on them.

Yang blinked once.

Then again.

Realisation dawned her.

"Ooh…" she said rather dumbly, wondering how on Remnant could she'd forgotten to tell her sister a very important news. "I forgot to tell you… didn't I...?"

"Umm…" The brunette paused, waiting for dramatic effect. "Yes! When did you suddenly go all buddy-buddy with Blake? Come to think of it, you never told me _anything_ about your chat with Blake! What did she say? Is she nice? When will you guys even meet up? Will Weiss come too? Can I meet her!? Can I-"

"Whoa, whoa, hold up there, Little Rubes!" Yang's hand was on Ruby's mouth. Thankfully, the brunette didn't complain, probably because she was too excited to. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. This is just a simple… meet-up…"

Ruby raised an eyebrow at that word. Honestly, Yang didn't know what else to call it without assuming that they were even close to being friends.

 _We did only talk for like for a short time,_ she remembered.

"... It's only between me and Blake," Yang emphasised, "I really don't wanna screw this up."

Silver eyes glimmered with understanding. Yang released another sigh, hoping she did get her actual point across.

"So… hold your horses, 'kay? I'm trying to keep things stable."

Lilac eyes widened.

 _Did I just make a horse pun?_

Silver eyes widened seconds later.

Ruby removed her sister's hand from her mouth.

"...Sis, did you just-"

"I swear to Dust," the blonde vastly explained. "That one wasn't intentional at all!" Her eyes narrowed as she contemplated. "Truthfully," she added with a half-smile, "I don't know if I should be proud or horrified of myself."

"Definitely the latter," her young sister interjected.

"Nope!" Yang said, half-smile turning into a full one. "Totally proud! Even subconsciously, I still make puns, if that's not dedication, I don't know what is! I totally am _punny!_ "

"Oh, you did not just-"

"I did," Yang proudly admitted. If a sunglasses was within her range, she would've grabbed it and put it on. "I really did."

Ruby managed to mask it well - really well, in fact, but Yang could sense that she thought it was funny. _After all, I'm a comedy genius; who wouldn't think it was funny?_

A light, comfortable silence filled the air, enveloping the room. Ruby began to play with her phone. Yang had a suspicion that - based on her red cheeks and intense eyes - Ruby was looking at pictures of Weiss Schnee.

Because Yang used to look at pictures of Blake in the same way… Used to… hopefully…

The blonde bit her lip, knowing it would be pointless to ask. But she still needed to, partly because of safety measures, the other part being big sister instincts.

"You're not gonna be mad, are you?" She didn't need to add any more words, knowing her sister understood what she was referring to.

Ruby shook her head, looking at her almost incredulously. "What? No way! In fact, I'm like, super proud of you, Sis!" A genuine smile spread on her face, one reminiscent of Yang's own. "You're getting to meet a great band member _and_ your crush! Like," she threw her hands up, "how awesome is that?!"

Yang took the opportunity to grin widely and flip her hair - which, in no doubt, looked _fabulous_ , even though a few strands of her hair found themselves covering her face.

"Well of course it is, I'm not just awesome, I _am_ awesome~"

Without missing a beat, the brunette answered, "Nope! Weiss is awesome!"

"Dust, Ruby…" she said exasperatedly. "Blake is better." Her words sounding as firm as law itself.

"Na-ah!"

"Ya-ah!"

"That's so not true!" Ruby growled, crossing her arms, acting very similar to an emo-teenager.

 _Wait, she kinda is an emo-teenager,_ Yang thought to herself, inspecting her sibling, reminding herself of that red and black attire.

"Well," the blonde said, cocking her head upwards, her voice a cocky bravado, "I'm the older sister so whatever I say counts!"

"Well," Ruby repeated, "I'm moved ahead _two_ grades." She held up two fingers. "Which means I'm smarter than you, which means what I say counts more!"

"Wha-?" sputtered Yang. "That doesn't even make s-"

" _Schneense_?" Ruby finished.

Yang blinked.

"... Ruby. I don't know whether I should be proud or horrified."

Said brunette looked up for only a moment, before locking her eyes with lilac, silver shining with unknowingness. She hummed, before finally saying matter-of-factly, "I, personally, prefer you should chose the one where it'll lead you to buying me cookies."

Yang slowly smiled, later commenting, "You little smartass!" whilst pretending to be angry.

Ruby tilted her head to the side and tucked a few strands of her hair, smirking jokingly, acting very confident. "You know you love me."

In response, Yang leaned in and ruffled the girl's hair, messing it all up. She smiled and knew that the girl was smiling too.

"I sure do, Rubbles."

Yang finally finished eating her bowl of cereal, and cooked some waffles for her little sister, despite Ruby complaining that she wanted cookies for breakfast, earning a loose, unlogical lecture about why people shouldn't eat cookies for breakfast.

In the end, though, she added a few strawberries on the dish.

It wasn't anything special, but it did brighten Ruby's mood.

And seeing Ruby happy made _her_ happier.

Minutes later, Yang found herself looking through her scroll, mostly to read other people's thoughts of yesterday's show.

Turns out, she wasn't the only one who was absolutely gobsmacked by it.

Many people had shared their thoughts of what they thought of the concert.

Some talked about how much potential the band carried. Some talked about how entrancing the music was. Some talked about how talented each individuals of the band were. Some talked about how great the diversity was.

Most, if not, all of the comments were positive.

It made Yang smile.

Suddenly, Ruby spoke seemingly out of nowhere, "Wow… this song is just- I can't imagine…"

Yang looked at her sister with interest on her face. She knew how much of a music-maniac Ruby could be, especially being a guitarist herself, but never had the blonde seen the girl _this_ obsessed with anything before.

"What's that, Rubes?" she asked, moreso out of worry than curiosity.

"Yang..."

Ruby spoke as if she was trying to explain something mythical, something magical. In her head, Weiss Schnee probably was and more.

"You just… you don't get it, her voice is just so… different." The way she'd stressed those words made her seem as if she was a poet. "It's like," the brunette looked at her phone, scrolling down through her playlist, "Her voice is her soul…" she trailed off before suddenly shouting hopelessly, "Dammit! Why's she so amazing?!"

Yang deadpanned. "Yeah, I don't understand a word you're saying, but if you like her…" A faint smirk crossed her lips. " _Songs_ so much, why don't you play them on your guitar?"

Her suggestion wasn't taken as lightly as she hoped. In fact, Ruby quite literally grinned and voiced, "That's a great idea!" She hopped off the chair. "I'm gonna go and play it- wait," she stopped and frowned, "I need my headphones," she looked around frantically, "do you know where I-"

"Whoa, whoa there." Yang grabbed her shoulders, keeping her from doing anything else.

Ruby warned swiftly, "Don't make any horse jokes again."

Yang ignored that small threat and asked, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Ruby slapped her forehead cartoonishly, eyes widening as she half-shouted, "Oh, right, the pills!" She rushed towards one of the cabinets and pulled out a plastic pill bottle, shake some of the content out, and swallowing it with no need of water, all in less than _ten_ seconds.

… Yang was still impressed, even after years of seeing her little sister do that.

The brunette smiled casually. "Thanks for reminding me, I'm gonna go practise now!"

And with that, she left, without giving Yang to properly reply to her.

Sighing, Yang muttered to herself quietly with a small shake of her head, "Knock yourself out."

Yang stared blankly on the wall, not knowing what else she was supposed to do. She looked at her phone to check if Blake had replied to her message yet.

There was a few notifications, but none of them came from Blake.

One hand started tapping the desk, unintentionally drumming the beat of yesterday's concert.

She looked at the clock from her device. It was 9 o'clock sharp.

 _Welp,_ she thought to herself, walking to her room, _better get ready._

She knew the meeting wasn't supposed to occur until two more hours. But she couldn't help herself: She was too excited and she had nothing else to do since she was on a break from college.

The blonde eyed the dresser so diligently one might thought she was a hawk faunus.

She placed one arm on her waist, and the other on her chin, stroking it gently.

Yang had always found that action to be particularly relaxing. It kept her from not thinking things fully and staying focused.

"Alright, alright, what to pick…" the blonde murmured.

A loud 'ding!' from her unsilenced phone grabbed her attention. She picked it up and saw that it was a message from Blake.

 ** _Ure up early :)_**

She didn't give herself the time to worry about replying too soon to look clingy - quickly texting back: **_Ofcourrrse, im like, a super efficient_**

Moments later, another loud 'ding!' could be heard.

 ** _Suuure u aree,_** the text read.

Yang could hear the sarcasm even from where she stood.

The blonde started thinking about what she should say.

 _Should I keep the conversation going?_

She briefly glanced over at her dresser: A reminder of her unfinished task of picking the right outfit for her meet-up.

… _Probably not. Should I ask her about her morning?... Nah, that's too predictable._

After reasoning with herself for probably quite some time, she decided that, because, for once, honestly was the best policy, she texted: **_Srsly cant wait for 2day! Im super hyped! :D_**

A blush formed on her cheeks, yet doubt formed in her mind.

 _Oh man, was that too clingy? Or too weird? What if she thinks it's weird? Dust-dammit! It is weird!_

Yang elected the best course of action would be to shut off her phone, pretend she didn't just send a message that could potentially ruin everything, and continued with her task.

 _I don't want to look too fashionable and overwhelm her… but I still want to impress her… Dammit, this has more pressure than last semester's finals!_

She started exploring her own dresser, throwing away outfits she labeled was not fit for her friendly meet-up, either because it was too revealing, too expensive-looking, or just not good enough.

Another loud 'ding!' stopped her from throwing away a pair of brown jeans.

Hesitantly, as if she was approaching danger, Yang picked up her phone and turned it on.

It was a message from Blake.

Yang was curiously terrified.

 _Oh my Dust, she's definitely calling this off, right? I KNEW I shouldn't text her too much-_

Her train of thought stopped when she read the text.

 ** _Me 2 Yang_**

Just a simple text. And even in that text, it contained three simple words.

Yet… why did it… illuminated her?

Why did the weigh on her shoulder melt away? Why did she suddenly find it easier to breathe? Why did her entire body feel lighter?

She didn't know why… but she knew it was a good thing.

She also knew that, whatever she was feeling now; she didn't want it to go away, no matter what.

Because, that text proved something important, something Yang used to doubt earlier on, something that… really made her glad.

That text proved that Yang wasn't the only one who wanted to meet again.

Blake could've texted anything else. She could've texted a simple 'Alright' or 'I'm flattered' or, literally, anything.

Yet she chose to text this.

Meaning that…

 _She wants to meet me again… she actually flippin' wants to meet me!_

Yang looked up at her dresser with newfound determination: A furious one, bubbling inside her insides, growing, roaring.

She very was determined as her mind roared.

 _I am NOT going to ruin this._

* * *

 **Author's Notes : First and most importantly, what do you think of the first sentence of this chapter… pretty relatable, eyy?**

 **Also, this chapter has 4000 words… and I, um…** **does things feel too forced or unnatural? I'm kinda nervous, so, if it is, please tell me.**

 **And I want to mention that Yang and Ruby's relationship is based on my relationship with my brother, minus the 'one dead mom and one dead** _ **beat**_ **mom' part.**

 **Even in the canon world, I find their relationship quite similar to mine. That's why I almost never have trouble writing their relationship, because the way they interacted with one another is almost exactly like how I interact with my brother… that cutie lil' nerd… too pure for this world…**

 **So… yeah… thought it was worth mentioning that I find it fun and easy to write Ruby and Yang's interaction.**

 **Also, relax, if you're concerned about what pills Ruby is thinking, I am not pulling a 'Your Lie in April'...**

… **MY PRECIOUS BABY KAORI _WHY?!_ T_T**

 **...Ahem, so, no, none of** _ **that**_ **shit. I might be a sadist but even I have my limits.**

 **What I'm planning to do with Ruby and her pills is something that… I think is a good thing, and not just in my story. It's something that _I've_ been dealing with. And I think a lot of people dealt with too. I think it's a good idea to put this in my story.**

 **You'll just have to wait for 'The Pill Reveal' to know what I mean :p**

 **The next chapter's (probably) gonna be from Blake's perspective! Yay! It might focus more on dialogues tho, so, heads up for that.**

 **Thanks for reading my story, hope you enjoy, have a good day, and bye!**


	6. Hello Again

Blake looked back at the digital clock on her phone, silently cursing at herself for being early.

10:34

… They were supposed to meet up at 11 sharp. She was really early.

The faunus' ears dropped.

 _I regret making this decision,_ she confessed to herself.

Blake looked around. She currently stood in front of the entrance of the building. Surely enough, this place wasn't nearly as crowded as it was yesterday.

The building itself was empty as dessert.

The girl looked down at the clothing she chose to wear.

Well, the more accurate statement would be the clothing Weiss and Neptune had _forced_ her to wear against her will.

A milky white halter neck blouse enveloped her in a very fitting way, not tight enough to cause her uncomfortableness, but not loose enough to make her appear small as well. It was added with a bootcut light grey jeans which she found to be, surprisingly, comfy. What she wore was complemented by the small white bow she had above her ear as well as the white flat shoes, suggested by Weiss Schnee… for obvious reasons.

Blake never would've worn this combination of clothing if not for Neptune's annoying begs and Weiss' terrifying glares.

At first, she was a little embarrassed. But, now that she looked at herself again… _This actually looks kind of… cute._

A small smile tugged her lips, followed by an almost non-visible red on her cheeks.

Blake felt a little better about herself now.

Her hand found itself grabbing her phone and turning it on. Shortly after, her eyes found themselves looking at the time displayed on it.

… Her mouth found itself creating a sound not unlike a dying whale when finding out that only _two freaking minutes_ had passed.

After sighing and putting her phone back in her - thankfully - large pocket, Blake's eyes started to wander all over the place.

She was fascinated by the supposed 'concert-building place'.

It was an eye-opener to see how differently this place looked.

She still remembered everything so vividly: As if it was happening right at this moment.

The many people pointing at her and her band, cheering and waving at them with such large smiles on their face.

The bright lights both from the concert and some people's phones as they took pictures. Admittedly, Blake was not comfortable with how much light her eyes had to process. But she'd grown used to it after the first hour.

Not to mention the noise.

All that noise.

Noises of her fans saying how much they loved them, how much they supported them despite their differences, how good their songs were.

Heck, one of them even flat-out confessed that her sister had a crush on her.

… Blake didn't know how to react back then, and she still wasn't sure how she should react now - other than being grateful, of course.

Everything was just… such an unforgettable experience-

"Dammit, Xiao Long, you're too early."

Blake's cat ears perked up at the sound. She, at first, was wary of it, wondering who in their right mind would come outside of an abandoned building at this hour.

Her worries, however, vanished when she heard the noise again.

"Okay, okay, okay, just treat her like how you would treat Ruby! Wait, no, that's weird…"

This time, she recognised who it belonged to.

 _Why is my heart suddenly beating so fast? Why are my hands all clammy and sweaty? Why is it suddenly hard to BREATHE?!_ Those were the thoughts going through Blake's head as she walked towards the blonde girl she'd considered a friend.

Surely enough, not too far from the building itself, the beautiful blonde stood.

They were a few feet away from each other. The only reason Blake could hear her was due to her extra pair of ears.

"Just… just be yourself, and confident! But not too confident because she'll hate it, and umm… be nice to her... yeah- wait that's stupid; of course I'll be nice to her!"

Hearing the girl's rant caused Blake to chuckle, more so because she thought it was cute and, truthfully, relatable.

 _Wait- cute? Get a hold of yourself Belladonna, you just met her!_

Yang had her back turned to Blake. She had noticed the faunus' presence.

Blake couldn't see the girl very well due to the distance, but she could tell how apprehensive Yang was, as her head kept tilting down to look at - what Blake assumed - the time from her own phone, before tilting back up to survey her surrounding.

Blake stood there, frozen, unknowing how to approach the girl.

 _Should I tap her shoulder? Or call out her name? What should I-_

Yang turned around, due to what? Blake herself didn't know.

Lilac met gold. The former; surprised, boring into the latter; scared.

Blake tried not to put in much thought in the way Yang was looking at her. The faunus must be imagining it, there was no way the blonde really looked at her as if she meant more than everything towards her.

No way.

She must be imagining it.

She must also be imagining how Yang's eyes sparkled when recognition flooded her, and how wide the blonde's smile was seconds later.

 _It's all in my head,_ the musician told herself, _get over it._

"Blake."

The faunus' heart skipped a beat.

… Her voice was so raw with emotions Blake couldn't describe. Maybe it was fondness? Perhaps it was a sense of thrill? … A simple delight?

Blake knew her question would never be answered.

The blonde advanced onto her, stopping when they were two feets apart. Not too far, but still further than Blake secretly would've liked.

"Hi… Nice to see you… " Yang breathed. She quickly added with a clumsy chuckle, "Well, again."

A smile came to Blake's lips naturally and very quickly. She was starting to remember why she liked this girl... Not that she'd ever forgotten in the first place.

"Hi to you too," answered the faunus. Yang stared at her, seemingly speechless. It made Blake feel anxious, but also… content.

Yang, after some short seconds, said softly, "You… you look… good."

 _You look even better_ were Blake's real thoughts, looking at the girl's choice of clothing; a peachy yellow loose shirt and a loose chocolate brown jeans.

Yang's choice of outfit wasn't all that grand... But that was exactly why Blake internally shouted, _How the hell is she able to make it look good?!_

She kept them simply as that; thoughts. The girl settled to simply say, "Thanks, you too."

Yang suddenly flashed her a mischievous smile. Blake raised an eyebrow, wondering what was going on inside her head when slowly and bashfully, the blonde offered Blake her arm - her cute smile still attached, and cleared her throat.

Yang looked up at Blake, eyes filled with shyness but flickering a sense of hopefulness.

"Shall we?"

Blake found herself smirking in response and, seconds later, answering, "We shall," as she wrapped her own arm around the blonde's.

They began walking.

The first thing Blake noticed about the street was the lack of people crowding it. Maybe it was because this likely wasn't an ideal hour for many to be walking somewhere. Sure, a few people had walked passed them, but it was still less crowded than what the girl had anticipated.

It was nice.

Blake breathed in the fresh air, enjoying the small breeze of air tickling her face, listening to any and all sounds her ears could pick up; the bushes rustling, the foot tapping the ground… the _rapidly_ beating heart of hers.

… Such lovely sounds.

Yang led her into a small vacant alley. It made Blake more nervous than she'd like to admit. She panicked more at how alone they were, and how deep inside of the alley they were currently in.

"Yang..." The faunus managed to at least control her voice from trembling. "Where are we going?"

Lilac eyes glanced at her before widening as she gave Blake an apologetic look. Yang bit her lip and lowered her head, partly in embarrassment and in shame.

"Oh, I- um, I'm sorry. Thought that you'd be more comfortable with no one around, since they'll probably be asking for pictures and stuff, so I… took us to a shortcut."

Blake's shoulders slumped in repose, now that she knew the girl was just being considerate.

"We can go somewhere else if you're not comfortable," Yang's nervous voice rang. Blake shook her head quickly, finding that, though thoughtful, the suggestion was quite unnecessary.

"No, no, it's okay, I was just confused," Blake explained to ease the girl somewhat.

Yang bit her lip; contemplating.

"Are you sure?" she caringly asked.

Blake nodded, her arm merging even more with the blonde's. "Yeah."

Blake's face reddened when Yang flashed her a warm smile.

It hit her right then that she was holding the girl's arm, practically gluing hers with Yang's.

The blonde didn't seem to mind that much. Though Blake had a feeling it was because she was generally used to psychical contact, unlike her.

Her mind began to wonder… _Just what are we?_

 _Are we friends? Merely acquaintance? Or is she still nothing more than a fan to me?_

Blake stole a glance at the girl, quickly scratching that last thought. _No, there's no way. She's more than a fan to me._

 _So… what is she to me?_

"We're here," Yang declared.

Blake blinked a few times before realising that they'd stopped walking, and she was leaning closer towards Yang than she remembered.

The faunus quickly dispatched herself from the girl. The latter letting out an awkward laugh at the display, no doubt a little embarrassed as well.

Yang looked beyond, her lips curling into a smile. Blake raised an eyebrow, wondering what had made the girl excited, eyes traveling to where the blonde was looking.

 _Huh_ was Blake's whelmed thought, looking at the empty and small restaurant.

It looked welcoming and pleasant, but before the faunus could really take the new scenery in, Yang was already half-running towards the entrance door, grinning like an excited child.

"Oh man," Yang chuckled, "you're gonna love it here."

They went inside (Yang opened the door for Blake… Blake was too flustered to think proper thoughts) and sat at the tables from the corner, right next to a large window.

Blake looked outside, and surely enough, the view was nothing more than the small alley.

"So, you like it?" she heard Yang ask. Blake turned around to find her playing with a strand of her hair while looking at her indecisively. "It's not fancy or big or anything, but I think it's nice and calm, y'know-"

"Yang." Blake put a hand on her shoulder, giving the girl a relaxing smile, hoping her face showed how honest she was when she told Yang, "Don't worry, I think this is a nice place."

Yang's shoulder untensed while her eyes brightened. "Great, thank Dust."

A cough stole both of their attentions.

It was the waiter: A tall, scraggly blond man, holding and looking at the check presenter, uninterestedly saying, "Hi, welcome to Adel's restaurant, how may I-" He froze when seeing them both. "Holy cow!" he screeched, startling both girls. "Y-you're from that band, right? Hunters and Huntresses!" He pointed towards the faunus, literally hyperventilating. When his gaze turned towards the blonde girl, his arms fell limply by his sides as he gaped, "No way! You're Yang Xiao Long!"

Blake, at first, cringed when he'd practically shouted out who she was for everybody to hear - even though they were currently the only customers in the quaint place, however, that troubledness vanished when he mentioned Yang's name.

 _It's not surprising that he knows about me, but... how does he know Yang?_

Yang was the first to give him a response. Leaning back towards her chair in an easy-going manner, she calmly yet bluntly stated with a lighthearted smile, "Sorry, I don't think we've met before."

"O-oh, that's alright," he stammered out his response with an awkward smile, plainly - and painfully - having no idea what he should say in his current situation.

"We don't, I-I mean, we haven't met, actually, not until now," he continued, rubbing his neck anxiously, "I'm just a student from Beacon, everyone knows who you are."

The faunus blinked and quickly looked at the blonde in question.

She knew Yang was popular, but she didn't think the girl was _that_ popular.

Yang chuckled before answering, "Yeah, I don't think so."

The blond boy frowned. "But it's true," he murmured in a voice only he and Blake could hear.

Giving a cough to change the topic, he afterwards said with a more professional manner, "Alright then, may I take your orders, ladies?"

Blake looked at the menu. A sweat trailed down her forehead soon afterwards as she hesitated, not knowing which order she should choose.

Thankfully for her, Yang came to the rescue. "Do you want me to order for you?" she politely offered.

Blake nodded gratefully. "Yes, please."

Yang ordered them both the chef's special meatloaf. After exchanging their short goodbye, Blake smiled with how the boy whispered to himself, "Oh my Pyrrha I can't believe that just happened."

Seconds ticked by in silence. Blake bit her lip, deeply thinking what she should say now. Heaving a silent sigh, she opted to simply ask about her day.

"How have you-" "How are-" They both said in unison.

Both eyes blinked in wonderment and confusion.

Yang was the first to let out a laugh. A short time later, Blake found herself doing the same.

"You go first," Blake insisted, hands put up.

Yang rubbed her neck for a moment. "Okay, well…" She swallowed before continuing in a much more confident and - intoxicatingly - cheerful manner. "How've you been? How's the band? Is everything…" She shrugged nonchalantly, appearing smaller than she really was. "Well, is everything cool?"

Blake smiled, touched by how much Yang cared for her and her band, and endeared with how hesitant the girl was in showing her care, afraid of offending the faunus in some way.

"Well," she answered, " Sun and Neptune are probably goofing off somewhere." She chuckled, shaking her head, picturing those two boys running off somewhere and getting themselves into ridiculous situations.

"And Weiss told me she's going to relax today." That wasn't the complete truth, however. The reality was, Blake made her swear that she wouldn't do anything relating to singing or working. She intentionally left that part out.

"But, yeah, everything's fine," she said with a gentle smile.

"Good," Yang breathed with a smile of her own.

They let themselves indulge another wave of silence. However, as more time passed, Blake started to notice how Yang wasn't quite as relaxed as she appeared to be.

The blonde, while wearing a cheerful expression on her face, kept on fidgeting with her cloth and drumming the chair with her fingers.

Blake felt bad for her. She had a feeling that Yang was a really fun person to talk and listen to, and probably kept herself from talking too much from scaring her off. So, she took the initiative and asked, "What about you?"

Yang blinked and looked at her attentively.

"Huh?" she pried.

"You said you study at Beacon, right?" Blake explained herself. The blonde bit her lip, but afterwards nodded. The girl took this as a sign to continue. "How are your studies?"

It was a simple question, one wasn't too personal as well. Blake found it to be a perfect subject to talk about considering everything.

"Oh, well, it's honestly kinda boring," Yang said as she smiled sheepishly. "But the people are all nice there," she added, her mouth curling up. "Unfortunately, I don't have time to hang out with my friends that much anymore, but I still enjoyed it."

Interest began to seep into the faunus as she asked, "What kind of people do you usually meet in Beacon?"

She'd taken online courses, so she wouldn't know what it felt like to really be studying in college. The closest thing she had to tasting the college life would be the one time she visited a small college as part of her school tour.

"There's people like… Jaune, I guess." Blake chuckled at Yang's frown. "Then- oh!" She perked up. "There's people like my sister! Which are total geniuses who got moved ahead in two grades."

"Sister?" Blake felt the need to ask.

"Yeah!" Yang grinned. "My sister's sixteen years old, and she's already in Beacon! She's studying engineering, she's pretty awesome."

Blake's eyes narrowed. "Hmm… what about you?"

Yang gave her a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Tell me about yourself," Blake said, sending her a grin. "You seem like you know so much about me, it's only fair if I learn more about you."

When those lilac eyes shone themselves with so much excitement and warmth, Blake knew she'd said the right words.

* * *

"-and then, Sun literally dropped the mic! He picked up a mic with his tail and dropped it!"

"No. Freaking. Way." Yang was unable to hide her look uncertainty, not knowing which emotion she should wear; shock, entertained, or unbelieving.

Blake couldn't blame her.

"Yes," Blake said, unable to contain her giggles. "And that was- that was the moment where I learned to never get on his bad side!"

"Damn, that guy sure can be terrifying when he needs to be," Yang commented, still processing the information.

"And sassy too," Blake added.

It had been half an hour since they arrived at the small restaurant.

Blake, at first, thought their encounter would entail nothing more than a short-lived, stiff, awkward conversations including her trying to be as extroverted as she could so things wouldn't get even more awkward.

That was her initial thought when she first arrived in this warm place.

… The girl's thoughts were wrong… so wrong.

The first surprise Blake learnt was how much of a fan Yang was towards her style of play. She'd ranted firmly and strongly about why Blake was different from the other bassists and why Yang loved her style of playing so much.

Things Blake had thought no one would ever know about her. All of those little details added towards each and every song, every performance… Yang had mentioned them all.

And that was just one of the many surprises the blonde held.

As it turns out, the blonde had many crazy experiences in the past. One where she almost set her own hair on fire, but ended up setting her room on fire. One where she got her first bike, and broke it by trying to ride the bike down the stairs.

The list just went on and on.

Blake had shared a few of her insane experiences as well, mostly in her time as a musician.

As she recount her events, she'd learnt another surprising fact about the girl: She was a very good listener… so much so that Blake was actually genuinely enjoying herself while talking - something that she, admittedly, never enjoyed very often.

She talked about the many types of fans she'd encountered in the streets. The ones that were shy. The ones that were overly-excitable. Every one of them. She'd talked about how much she loved all of her fans - how much she appreciated and respect them, how much it meant to her when people told her how much they loved her.

And Yang listened.

She didn't give any advice, she didn't let out any comment, she just sat there, listening to her every word.

Blake concluded that coming here was one of the best decisions she'd ever made.

"So, wait, is that how you guys got together?" Yang asked, slowly nodding as if she was starting to understand… something.

Blake frowned in confusion. "What?"

Yang smiled at her. "I mean, at first, I was confused as to why you guys are dating," she said a little too solemnly, "but now I guess I can see why you to are a couple."

 _Wait. Wait. Wait. WHAT?!_

Blake didn't know what was worse: Yang's assumption that she and Sun were romantically involved, or how she looked when she'd assumed it.

"Yang, what are you- what's this about me and Sun?" she quickly inquired, interested in knowing what the girl was thinking.

The blonde scoffed playfully with a sincere smile, though Blake could see that it was anything but a happy one. "It's kinda obvious, don't you think?"

Blake opened her mouth, but no words came. Her mind was still processing this new information, this false information that she and Sun…

"I understand if you want to keep it a secret," Yang shrugged, "but it's also kind of obvious, so I-"

"No, no, no, wait, what is this with me and Sun?" Blake repeated her question in a more stern demeanor. It seemed to finally grab Yang's full attention.

Yang started fidgeting in her seat as she gave the girl a happy smile she knew was fake.

"You know, you and Sun… You two are so close, Weiss and Neptune too…" When all the blonde received was nothing but a look that said 'go on', she asked, clearly very lost, "You guys are dating right?"

The blank stare of amber bored into self-conscious lilac.

"Probably? Maybe? From what I've heard?" she backpedaled.

As more seconds went by, Yang shrunk in her seat more and more.

Blake blinked once. Then again.

… Before completely breaking into laughter.

"Dust, do people actually think that?" she asked, mostly towards herself than the girl.

Yang looked at her dumbly, her jaw dropped and both of her eyebrows raised.

"Wait, so you're not dating him?"

"No," Blake replied after her laughter had died down. However, she started to cringe at the picture of her and Sun being romantic partners, especially since she'd always seen him as more of a brotherly figure.

"Then… is _Weiss_ dating Sun?" Yang suggested.

Blake shook her head. "No, none of us are dating each other."

Yang's face softened, she looked very relieved after that confirmation. "That's go- I mean, why do people think so, then? I read like, dozens of articles about how cute you two 'lovebirds' are."

Blake raised an eyebrow at her little slip-up, but didn't think much of it. She, instead, flashed the girl a sheepish grin. "Yeah… the media… don't trust them too much. They always misinterpret things." After letting out a sigh, she affirmed, "None of us ever have any feelings towards the other."

"Really?" Yang looked at her disbelievingly.

Her face hardened in response. "Yes." She nodded. "I know, trust me."

Yang's eyes fluttered as she let out a calm sigh, sinking into her seat in relief. "Wow… thank Dust…"

Blake raised an eyebrow, wanting to question why the blonde was exactly glad that they were all currently single, but the waiter from before came into view yet again, holding a tray and wearing a smile.

"Here's your orders; two of our special Adel meatloaf! A chef's recommendation!" he said with a practiced smile, which soon disappeared and was replaced by a real, small one.

They exchanged a short conversation, which Blake found to be meaningless. Unfortunately for the boy, who she now knew as Jaune Arc, was called in by his manager.

"Enjoy," was what he said before leaving them alone.

Using a knife and a fork, Blake cut a slice of the tender-looking meat, quietly sniffing it and already knowing it would taste great.

When she ate her first bite, her only thought was; _the smell is nothing compared to the taste._

Her expression must had gave it away, because she heard a small giggle coming from the blonde. Looking up at her, she found Yang smiling knowingly - a bit arrogantly in a playful etiquette, perhaps - as she asked, "I take it you like the food?"

Blake frowned very deeply and very seriously. After swallowing, she asked - no, begged, "Dust, how'd you find this place?"

Yang let out a small laugh. "Funny story actually… I just found out about this place yesterday."

"Really?" Blake questioned.

After swallowing a bite of her food, Yang explained, "Right before your concert, me and my sister were looking for a place to eat, we didn't expect good food, just eatable one that's close to the, umm… concert building place." The blonde frowned at that last part.

Blake smiled, suddenly remembering something Glynda had told her along with her band about said place.

"You know, the 'concert-building place'" she air-quoted, "was originally supposed to be a library."

"Seriously?"

Blake nodded. After taking another bite, she continued. "Apparently, the building was deemed too large and unstrategic. So, they abandoned it even when they were almost done. It happened hundreds of- I believe, three hundred years ago."

"Well, umm…" Yang scratched her cheek gently, "that's really… not at all what I was expecting."

Blake grinned. "What did you expect?"

Yang gave her an even wider grin. Rubbing her chin dramatically while looking up, she hummed, "I don't know, some kind of… secret labs where they build ray guns."

Both of them couldn't stop laughing for at least five minutes.

* * *

"Here you go!" Jaune said with a smile, holding the bag.

Both girls raised their eyebrow.

They had finished eating earlier on and just finished paying the bills. Yang, at first, wanted to pay for both of them, but Blake insisted that she was the one to pay. After arguing for longer than necessary, Yang complied to her wishes.

They were in the middle of walking outside when the familiar face of the blond waiter named Jaune materialised, holding a plastic bag.

Which was how Blake found herself in this situation.

She picked it up and looked in it in curiosity while Yang asked, "What's the occasion?"

"Meh," he shrugged, "decided to give this to you guys, cuz… why not?" He offered them an anxious smile, but the faunus could tell he was being sincere.

"Aww, thanks, Jauney!" Yang cooed, outstretching both of her arms.

"Thanks," said Blake in a more curt manner.

"No problem! Be sure to come and visit here again!"

The two girls looked at each other at the same time, let out a giggle.

"We sure will!" Yang answered with a nod.

"Thanks again," Blake said as they left.

Walking side-by-side, in a much slower pace than what was considered normal, not that either of them minded.

"Can I walk you home?" Yang offered, looking at her confidently.

"May I," Blake corrected.

Yang chuckled and shook her head, but complied anyways. "May I walk you home?"

Blake hummed, pretending to actually consider the options. When she looked into those gaze of lilac, however, a smile found its way into her lips.

"You may."

Blake looked up, admiring the underrated gray sky. She never could understand why people thought that the sky not being it's usual light blue meant the day was sour and gloomy.

"Hey, Blake?"

The faunus looked at her friend.

 _Friend… is that what we are?_

"I really had a great time today, and…" The blonde grinned sheepishly. "I hope you had fun too."

Blake answered truthfully, "Don't worry fun, today's been enjoyable." A barely-noticeable blush formed in her cheeks as she said, "Honestly, it's been a while since I've felt this way… this… happy."

"Me too!" Yang quickly agreed, her voice rising slightly in excitement.

Silence engulfed their walk once again. It wasn't uncomfortable, though. In fact, it was… soothing.

Blake's eyes found their way onto the blonde besides her.

 _Friends… Blake frowned at the thought. Somehow, that's not entirely right…_

Suddenly, an interesting question popped into her head.

"So, Yang," said blonde hummed in response, "do you play any instruments?"

The girl laughed. "Me?" She pointed at herself jokingly. "Nah," she waved, "I never really have the time, but my sister does!"

"Really?"

Blake couldn't help but wonder who this mysterious girl that was Yang Xiao Long's sister.

Yang had mentioned many names during their lunch, but one name that struck Blake the most was 'My Sister'. That name was mentioned the most and - Blake also noted - was mentioned in a very fond way.

It was strange, now that she thought about it; Yang never mentioned who the girl's name even was, nor her age, or anything other than the fact that the girl was younger and, supposedly, very adorable.

It was also strange that, in the many names that had been mentioned, not once did she ever heard the name 'Ruby' being spoken.

… Not that she cared, or anything like that. No, no, she was just curious…

"Yeah, she's totally a music genius!" Yang confirmed; what she claimed making Blake smirk.

The probability of anyone being a music genius was pretty low. Not many even knew what that term truly meant. She doubted that Yang's sister, no matter how skilled she was in playing an instrument, could be classified as a musical expert.

"What about close friends? Do any of them, by any chance, play a guitar?" she seeked, pretending to be nonchalant when, really, she just wanted to know more about this Ruby girl.

It had always stayed in the back of her head - the name 'Ruby', that was - and while it had bugged her then, this was the time when she felt she could really get her answers.

"Nope~" Yang sung with a mery tone. "Like I said, the only musician I know, apart from you, of course, is my sister."

That sentence was what really flared Blake's attention.

"Huh, what does she play? Classical? Modern rock?"

Yang gave her a sly grin, only succeeding in increasing her curiosity tenfold.

"How about I show you…" The blonde then picked up her phone and began fiddling with it.

Moments later, she presented Blake with a video, which Blake noticed, was played from Instagram.

Her heart skipped a beat.

… The same place… the same lighting… the same _girl_ …

It took Blake seconds to fully figure out everything…

And when she did figure it out…

" _THAT'S_ YOUR SISTER?!"

* * *

 **Author's Note : Decided to end the chapter at that. Thought it'd be pretty hilarious… hopefully… maybe…**

 **Okay, got to be honest here, I'm pretty tired right now. So, I'm not so sure if this chapter is as great as the others. Of course, I tried my very _best_ , but I still feel the need to tell you guys that I'm not 100% well right now, so, if there's something… off about this chapter in any way, that's probably why.**

 **Hey, do you guys think it's hilarious? If so, tell me through the reviews! I'd love to hear it!**

 **So… what do you guys think of this chapter? Is it too choppy? Too weird? Too short? Gahh, is the interaction between them both too unrealistic?! Please tell me! I'm dying of self-consciousness right now! Scared of my own writing!**

 **Also, the part about Yang breaking her bike by trying to ride it down the stairs… yeah… that's based on real life… I was an excitable kid, okay?!**

 **Hmm… oh yeah, you're probably wondering, why the late update? Well… school. Or, more specifically; powerpoint presentations, band practice, and a whole bunch of tests.**

 **Yeah… school.**

 **These are basically what I want to say. Well, almost. I also want to say thank you for reading my story, I hope you enjoy it, I hope you have a good day, please give me a review, and goodbye!**

* * *

 **Wolf eyes : … Pineapple pizza is as abnormal as mustard on cookies…**

 **Kuru Rinshi : Sorry I couldn't DM you right now, I'm kinda tired and, well… I want to DM you but I'm too tired xp sorry.**

 **But, well, don't worry, I'm not planning on breaking your hearts this early… Hehehe… after all, I want to make you guys care for the characters before I completely break them, and thus, breaking you as well :)**

 **I'm planning on exploring many things, and I mean, many things, in future chapters~ don't worry, Whiterose will happen. Just not as early as Bumblebee…**

 **Complicated Kurumi : Hahaha, I'm so glad you liked it! The one thing I really hate is when a conversation or relationship feels forced and stiff and just… overall bad. That's why I always took the time to re-read the conversations, wondering how I can make this better but still realistic. So, thank you!**


	7. Family

"And then she was like 'That's your sister?!' and I didn't know what to say so we just kinda stood there for a while…"

Ruby was in the middle of tuning her Crescent Thorn; a black electric guitar with a white sticker of a beautifully drawn crescent moon... hence the name.

She stopped, however, after hearing Yang's words to ponder, just as confused as her big sister was.

"Huh…" the brunette breathed, resting her chin on the body of the instrument. "What if she hears me when I yelled at her about how you have a crush on her? That could be it," she offered with a shrug, her fingers slowly picking noteless strings.

Yang frowned, not knowing if Ruby was messing with her.

… But still, even if Ruby was joking, the simple thought of Blake _knowing_ …

"Geez, I hope not." Yang visibly shuddered at the thought, crossing both of her arms, straightening her back as she sat on the old computer chair.

Currently, the sisters were occupying Ruby's room. Yang had, quite literally, barged in it half an hour ago after she'd had one of the best experiences in her life: Hanging out with Blake Belladonna.

The brunette's room was unique, to say the least, and not in a bad way. It just… really showed her passion for music.

Posters of various musicians both from the modern era and from decades ago were all placed on each side of the wall.

Other teenagers might've hung pictures of 'handsome' popular boy band members, but Ruby… she hung pictures of classical pianists from who knew what decade.

While Yang herself was a huge fan of music in general - although she leaned more towards progressive music nowadays - her sister was on another level of... obsessiveness.

Honestly, was it safe to even call it obsessiveness? Or should she label it as attachment?

Ruby had clearly taken the time to explore every style, every genre, every trend of music; listened through each and every one, even the ones Yang had never _heard_ of before, of them carefully and studied it.

Sometimes Yang almost couldn't believe that she and the girl were sisters.

Especially looking at her dark-brown hair and comparing it to her own yellow mane… speaking of yellow hair…

"Funny thing," Yang started as she recalled an event, "there's this waiter on the restaurant, I think his name is Jaune, and he mentions-"

Ruby's grip on her baby loosened immensely. She almost dropped it. Almost. After gluing her hands on the instrument tightly, and preventing herself from having a heart attack, she peered at Yang with an incredulous look on her face.

"Jaune _works_ there?!"

Seconds ticked by with pregnant silence, the siblings looking at each other with a different face of total unbelieving.

Yang was the first to recover from her initial shock. "You _know_ Jaune?!"

… Almost recovered.

Ruby wasn't any better. After putting away her guitar out of harm's way, she quickly pointed at her sister and screeched, "Jaune _met_ you guys?!"

"... You _know_ Jaune?!"

Yang was still horrified that her own sister was friends with Jaune… well, he wasn't that bad, but still… he was _Jaune._

She knew her sister was equally confused as well, albeit for entirely different reasons. So she took the initiative as the older sibling and declared, "We need explanations."

Wordlessly, they both sat down cross-legged on the bed, face-to-face.

Ruby bit her lip and fidgeted, while Yang crossed her arms and frowned.

"How did you meet him at your date?" Ruby asked not even a second later, ever the patient girl she was.

Yang swallowed and took a deep breath to calm herself before giving the young brunette the answer she requested.

"Jaune… he came to take our orders, and then he started… flipping out." She cringed at the words she'd used, because really, there was no other way to describe that weird event. "He told us that he knows us both… Also, it's not a date," she added as she gave her sister a scolding glare.

Ruby snickered in response, not at all affected. "Sure it's not."

The blonde wisely pretended she didn't hear that. "What about you? How do you know Jaune?"

"Oh, we share the same classes." The brunette shrugged.

Yang noticed there was a vague smirk on the girl's lips, one that spoke of history.

Realising Ruby wasn't telling her the exact story, the blonde raised her eyebrow questioningly. "That's it?"

Ruby's small smirk grew into an ear-to-ear grin, as though she was expecting her sister to ask that precise question.

"Yup!" she loudly cheered, throwing out both of her arms as she leaned back.

"We started talking to each other 'cause we're too scared to talk to everyone! First, I saw him sitting all alone looking awkward and I thought 'Hey, he seems to be socially awkward… just the type of person I am!'" Yang mentally rolled her eyes at _that_ , noting silently that she needed to force Ruby into socializing more.

"Turns out, we have a lot of things in common!" Ruby cheered, like that was a good thing. "Like what we watch- heck, he even wants me to play at the place he works at…" The brunette let out a serene sigh. "What are the odds…"

Yang's eyes widened when taking in all these information, sometimes, her sister could talk so fast she might've went beyond the speed of light.

However, she re-raised her eyebrow at _one_ peculiar part of the girl's rambling.

"Wait, what do you mean by playing...?"

Ruby flinched and looked at her own hands. Then, her eyes darted towards her electric guitar before looking back up at her sister again with those shy silver eyes.

It took Yang a few moments to understand what her sister was implying.

Quickly, she grabbed the brunette's shoulders and asked whilst shaking her, "When are you playing? And where? Why haven't I heard of this before? Why didn't you tell me anything?!"

Yang looked very much like a concerned parent finding out that their child was about to get their first date.

After Ruby had convinced her to stop, which took a, not surprisingly, lot of time, she awkwardly tried to explain what she'd been hiding from her sister, rubbing her neck.

"Well, it's gonna happen on Sunday, so, two days from now," she made sure to add, "at around nine PM…" When Yang was still looking at her, Ruby knew she needed to say more. "Jaune told me it doesn't matter what song I played, as long as it fits for the general audience…" She gulped before finally saying, "I wanted it to be a surprise, Yang."

"Rubes…"

Yang maintained a poker face, knowing that it made the girl anxious.

 _She deserves to be freaking out for not telling me about this! She knows how I feel about this!_ The blonde reasoned within her mind.

However, Yang, being the big softie she was, couldn't stay mad for a long time, and immediately pulled the brunette into a bone-crushing hug. "Gah! That is so amazing! You're gonna perform! I'm so proud of you right now!"

She didn't care if it technically wasn't a performance. She didn't care if the only audience would only be she herself. She honestly didn't care even if the girl would somehow mess up her song.

Yang just… didn't care, except for that her sister would play her guitar in front of an audience.

"Ugh, Yang… need… air… to… breathe…" her sister said with heaving breaths.

Yang chuckled before finally letting go of her sister, who proceeded to hold her chest and try to steady her breathing.

"Sorry." She was not sorry at all.

"You're so not," Ruby called out, but then let out a big sigh, her annoyance washing away. "But… thanks, Sis," she said with a half smile.

Silver eyes brightened in a sudden.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" she declared as she ran towards her guitar, picking it up, and started fiddling with it, attempting to tune it in, Yang supposed.

"What?" Yang asked, wondering what the girl wanted to show her.

 _Maybe it's a new strumming pattern? Or a chord progression she learnt?_ Yang guessed in her head.

When Ruby gave her an excited grin, Yang knew it was not all of those.

"Check this out."

She began playing a slow melody. One that made the blonde think of watching the sunset at a beach: Calming. Relaxing.

Slowly, a beat seeped in. Starting out soft and simple, gradually growing stronger and more complex until it carried out the whole song, turning it from one of a slow song into one of a triumphing, inspiring one.

Yang had practically helped raise Ruby. She was there when the girl asked their father to buy her a guitar. She watched as the girl slowly learn to get better and better at playing it. She saw the girl slowly develop her style of playing.

She had been there.

She had always been there for her sister, and she knew she always would be.

But… even after all that… listening to her playing… it was still so mesmerizing, so enchanting…

"So? Did you notice?"

Yang blinked, slowly realizing how Ruby was done with her song.

"Notice what?" The young girl immediately pouted, as if she'd done something wrong. "What?" Yang repeated.

"I've been playing Weiss' song!" the young brunette whined, flaying her two arms. "You know, from her first album!" Yang gave her a blank look. Ruby blushed and defended, "Well, I guess it's not really popular, but I still like it!"

Yang shrugged and faintly smirked. "Well, still don't know what you're talking about, but I know Weiss is definitely gonna love it."

Ruby smiled. "Tha- wait," her smile was replaced with a frown as she immediately sensed how something was… of with the way the blonde had phrased it. "What do you mean by _that_?" she inquired.

Yang let out a laugh that put all villains in shame.

"Oh, my sweet sweet Ruby…" She shook her head, a menacing grin plastered on her face. Confident lilac bore into nervous silver. "Do you really think your _favourite_ big sister is going to befriend her crush without letting her sweet rose meet the band member she's head over heels with?"

Ruby blinked.

"... You're joking."

"Nope~!" said Yang, popping the 'p'.

A red blur crashed onto the blonde, and soon, Yang found herself being tackled by the small girl, Ruby's head buried in her collarbone.

"Gah! I love you so much!" screamed the girl, her voice muffled.

"I know, Rubes," she answered, ruffling her sister's hair.

After minutes of more teasings, jokes, and definitely more puns ("I really think you're gonna get along with her, so don't worry, I'm confident that I've made a pretty… _Weiss_ decision"), Ruby was already with her guitar again, strumming melodies of songs she couldn't remember, while Yang was happily listening to it.

Yang noticed that, however, Ruby's face was creased with a small frown, one that looked to be confusion rather than anything resembling anger.

"What's bugging ya, Rubes?" she decided to ask.

Silver eyes looked up at lilac, before quickly looking down again. "It's just…" she mumbled, fidgeting with one of the strings, downcast. After she took a sigh, she looked back up at her sister's eyes with determination as she asked, "You want Blake to like you, right?"

Yang was confused, but she nodded nonetheless, puzzled by which direction this conversation was going.

"Then… Why don't you tell her about your grades at school? Or how popular you are?"

Yang sighed.

If she were being honest, she herself had been thinking of telling her crush about it; about who she was at school.

Yang wasn't stupid; she knew her facial features and body were classified as 'hot'. She knew lots of boys wanted her, and lots of girls wanted to be her. Hell, sometimes lots of boys wanted to _be_ her and girls wanted _her_.

It didn't really matter, not when it came to her, at least.

With her looks, and how friendly and open she was towards everyone… it caused her to gain a reputation.

And that wasn't all.

Despite the way she carried herself, Yang was far from stupid, especially academically. In fact, she was considered one of the best students at Beacon.

The headmaster himself had praised the blonde more than once.

Yang could tell Blake about it… she _really_ could… but she hadn't, and didn't plan to…

"Because, Ruby… while I may be lots of things, what I want her to see isn't just any of those things… I want her to get to know me, to like me… not just 'the popular girl'... I could do that, but what would be the point?... Plus, I don't think Blake will like it if I show off. I know she's not into those types of people."

Ruby froze, letting the girl's words sink in. Then, she gave her sister a heartwarming smile.

"Huh… you really care about her, do you, Sis?"

Yang didn't even look at her sister. She didn't blush nor hesitate when she answered her sibling's question.

"Yeah. I do."

* * *

Blake's eyes were transfixed on the page before her.

 _Don't look up,_ she told herself repeatedly.

The reason for it was simple.

Here, while she sat on her bed, slouching as she hid her face with the help of her bangs and book, Neptune, Sun, and Weiss - yes, all of them - were standing in front of her and looking down at her expectantly.

Why?

... Well, the bassist had a few ideas, but she was pretty sure that, all in all, it had something to do with her hanging out with Yang.

She just didn't get why they all would make such a big deal out of it.

… Was she really _that_ antisocial to the point where going out with a friend was considered very bewildering and fascinating?

"So?" she heard the boy with the blue hair asked.

Even without looking at him she knew he was giving her his version of a death-glare which he'd adopted by being friends with Weiss.

 _Just don't look up,_ she chastised herself before she made a fool out of herself.

"Ahem!" the singer very clearly faked a cough. "You know," her voice showed her deadpan. "It's very rude not to respond to your friends, Belladonna. Also, we all know you tend to read to avoid people." There was a pause that lasted for a few seconds. "Also, you've been reading that same page for at least five minutes, and you're a fast-reader, Blake."

Blake's eye twitched. She then made a fatal mistake by doing something she'd told herself not to do only because Weiss was being extra… 'Queeny'.

She looked up… and immediately cringed from the intensity of those three pairs of eyes.

Baby blue eyes shone, conveying an incredible sense of intelligence and logical-thinking, yet also a deep worry that she tried to hide, covered by the facade of nothing but curiosity.

Azure pools of blue, deep as ocean in daylight, held a mix of many feelings. Most noticeable was worry. Added emotions were suspicion, hesitation, and a light dreadfulness.

The last were coal of black, which showed the least amount of negative emotions. They held nothing but a child's curiosity, wanting to know simply because others would want to know as well, thinking it must be important.

She sunk as deep as she could into her bed, as if it provided her an escape from those glares. Had she known her friends were this… obsessed with her and Yang's newfound friendship, she would've looked for the emptiest, most abandoned library there was in this place, and secluded herself in it.

"So?" the dark-haired faunus shot back, wanting them to get out of her hair. But, unfortunately for her, her actions only made those glares increased five times.

 _What did I do?!_ She screamed internally, and very deeply wanted to screamed externally.

"Don't act like you don't know, Belladonna," Weiss quipped, still referring to the taller girl with her last name hands on her hips, looking very intimidating despite her small stature. She was the spitting image of a typical - not to mention cliche - angry mother character trope.

Blake gulped and took a chance. Maybe, just maybe, she could pretend to be dumb, and they would all let her go.

"What are you talking about?" she cursed herself for how nervous she sounded.

"Hmm…" Weiss tapped her chin, pretending to actually be thinking, before breaking into a groan and saying, "I don't know, maybe how you've been _smiling_ all day ever since you got back from your date?"

"I have?" Blake immediately perked up. She truly didn't notice. She supposed she had been a little less… tired ever since she hung out with Yang. Everything seemed to increase in color. She felt a little more herself; a little more alive.

"Wait, it's not a date!" She did her best to outglare them all as she spoke declaringly.

"Sure it's not." Sun rolled his eyes. It was a little surprising for him to be acting aloof like that.

"That's definitely why you're smiling all day like an idiot, right?" Neptune backed up, grinning like a child. "Because of your 'not-date' with…" His face scrunched up. "Wait, who's the lucky dude again?"

Blake glared even harder, directing it at him.

" _She's_ not my date," the girl corrected.

Neptune merely held eye-contact with her for a few seconds before asking yet again, unfazed, "Who's the lucky dudette?"

"Can you at least tell us who you've been talking to? Because I am more than a little worried," Weiss interjected before Blake could put any word in.

Gritting her teeth furiously, and mentally blaming her red cheeks on anything _but_ her embarrassment, Blake answered begrudgingly listed off, "Her name is Yang Xiao Long, she's eighteen years old, she's a student from Beacon, she studies-"

"Boooring!" Neptune drawled out, groaning. Sun merely nodded in agreement, he surprisingly wasn't vocal about his state of unamusement.

"... Excuse me?" Blake raised an eyebrow and looked at Weiss, who seemed just as confused, if not more, than she was, now sitting down in her own bed, arms folded, expecting some kind of explanation.

"Blake," Neptune explained calmly, motioning with his hands, "when we ask you about this girl, we don't mean you practically read us her _biography_."

"Hey! I found these informations to be useful!" Weiss piped.

"Sure you do, Weissy," the keytar-player said, shaking his head in disappointment.

"We meant what's she like as a person," Neptune said, surprisingly, wisely. "Is she funny? Has she been treating you well? Do you guys share any-"

"Have you two fucked yet?"

Blake's eyes widened in absolute extreme shock not just because of that question which was so wrong on so many levels, but _who'd_ said it.

"WEISS!"

Honestly, she didn't know what to say to the calm girl who currently was looking at her phone disinterestedly, as if she hadn't said… that.

Sun, however, laughed at her statement.

"The Ice Queen is back at it again with her ice-cold burns!" Sun commented, lightly jabbing Neptune, who appeared half as mortified as the faunus.

The four of them had a lot of inside jokes running between them, one of which was The Ice Queen and her never-ending ice-cold words.

If Blake had remembered correctly, Sun even kept track of how many times Weiss had unleashed her coldness and ruthlessness.

Meanwhile, the singer looked up at them with her usual frown and asked, "What?" After locking eyes with Blake's mad amber, she excused herself by proclaiming, "I'm just being blunt."

"Y-you can't just ask things like that!" Blake chided, still horrified. "I-it's just…" She refrained herself from saying any more things, mainly because she knew she couldn't handle having _that_ kind of conversation with _Weiss_ of all people.

"Why not?" the heiress asked, appearing curious and maybe even… hurt by the statement. She got up from her bed so she could look down upon Blake and appearing threatening. "You're my friend, Blake, it's my job to know."

The monkey faunus groaned. "Can you not use the word 'job' to describe 'friend'?"

"Suuun! You're ruining the moment!" Neptune complained, hitting him lightly in the shoulder, which didn't affect the blond in the slightest.

While the singer and the two boys continued to bicker - although mainly, it was just Sun trying to defend himself, Blake felt her phone buzz.

Opening it up, she smiled widely.

 ** _Yoo, wanna meet up 2morrow? Thinking bout watching that new running in the mazes movie… movie._**

She didn't have to look at the contact to know who messaged her. She was about to begin typing her reply when she heard a scoff.

Turning around, she found that her three friends had somehow gathered around behind her and looking at the message as if it was some kind of rare artifact… without her noticing.

"Hmm… so that's your new… friend…" Weiss was the first to speak. As she cross her arms and glared coldly, she said, "what horrible grammar she has." Then, her eyes widened ever so slightly as she noticed and said almost disgustedly, "And- wait, is she a blonde?!" Causing Sun to look at her strangely, most definitely asking what was wrong with being a blonde?

"Well, but you have to admit, she is pretty bold." Neptune shrugged, out of them all, he was the one who cared least about Yang. That didn't mean he didn't care, though. He was just less… paranoid and worried.

A lot less worried.

"Stupidly so," Sun growled out, mildly surprising Blake, knowing that not much could anger the boy.

 _What's bugging him?_ Blake thought mildly to herself.

The blue-haired boy began, "I think the correct term would-"

"Guys," Blake cut off before another ridiculous conversation which would definitely lead to an even more ridiculous argument start. "Can you stay out of this? This is between me and Yang!"

Blake was not at all pouting; it was a glare, _not_ a pout.

Sun uncharacteristically scoffed, "Well that's utter bullshit."

"Agreed," Neptune added, much to the dark-haired girl's displeasure.

"If someone's getting closer to you, they need to come to us first! They need our approval first," Weiss said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Approval…?" Blake didn't know whether she should be grateful of how much her friends cared for her or be downright mortified that her friends were all like acting like concerned parents… which made her feel as if she was their teenage daughter.

 _I am no child,_ she thought to herself as she glared even harder.

"Yeah!" Sun cheered, then his demeanor quickly darkened as he said in a low voice. "If she hurts you in any way…" He frowned, then turned to his best friend and asked after poking him, "Hey Nep, how good are we at hiding bodies?"

"Guys!" Blake groaned.

Luckily for the cat faunus, the heiress seemed to catch how she wanted her privacy and put each of her hand on Sun and Neptune's shoulder, sighing. It was clear that Weiss wasn't used to psychical contact, so for her to be the one initiating it…

It was progress. A slow one, but progress nonetheless.

Blake smiled. She saw that the two boys were smiling as well, even if they hid it from Weiss.

"Alright boys, let's leave Blake to talk with her girlfriend," she asked- no, commanded.

"Aww, alright." The keytar-player whined, yet complied nonetheless. "But first…" He leaned onto Blake, eye-level, and mustered with the most painfully innocent and cheerful tone one could possibly speak in:

"Don't worry Blake, I'm sure you'll nova her casa soon enough."

Blake's face reddened.

Sun broke into laughter.

Weiss gaped at him incredulous.

"Neptune!"

"What?" the boy said, holding out his hands. "That's what casanova means, right?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and a sheepish smile; actually having no idea what he'd just said.

"NO!" Weiss shrieked. "That is not at all what it means!"

"The…" He scratched his head. "What does it mean?" he asked while frowning.

"Your room. Now."

Weiss closed her eyes, pointing towards the exit, a hand massaging her temples, letting out a hiss of more-than-mild annoyance.

The two boys actually flinched and looked genuinely terrified of the petite girl, uttering a "Yes ma'am" and quickly doing what she'd told.

After a door-click, indicating they were out of the girl's room, Sun's voice saying, "But seriously, how good are we?" could be heard, echoing through the hallway.

The two girls were alone in their room once more. Weiss sat there, arms crossed, frowning, looking at Blake.

Blake stared back, knowing there was still something the heiress wanted to say.

The shorter girl closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "It is true," she said, looking at Blake intelligently and level-headedly. "If she hurts you, Blake-"

"She won't," Blake quickly said, surprised of how confident she felt when she'd said it. "I won't let her," she corrected herself.

Weiss held her gaze for a few moments, then broke it by looking down, biting her lip. She seemed contemplating… deciding something.

Blake's eyebrows knitted together.

It wasn't that her friend's sudden quietness was alarming, she was just worried of what the girl had to say…

"What is it?" The faunus decided to cut to the chase while finally typing in her reply towards her cute new friend, not wanting to keep her waiting for long.

 ** _Sure :) How abt 11?_** was Blake's simple response, accepting the blonde's simple invitation. It had been a while since she'd gone to the cinemas. In fact, it had been quite a while since she'd watched any movie at all.

"It's just…" said Weiss, hesitation shown by the way she rubbed her fingers together. It was something she'd always done whenever she was worried, scared, or just… generally anxious.

Blake's phone buzz, meaning Yang had sent her another message.

 ** _Coolzies! What movie should we watch? :D_**

Amber eyes narrowed in deep thought, wondering about it as well. Blake, personally, never minded any movie she watched. She wasn't a fan of movies in general, so it didn't matter to her.

"Blake?" she heard her friend call out.

Without batting an eye, she responded with a simple "Yeah?"

"... Be careful, okay?" was what the heiress said just as she hit the send button.

Blake stopped. She looked up to find Weiss was already leaving.

"I'm gonna go and check on the boys," was her excuse; her lie.

Moments later, Blake was left alone in the room, more than a little confused.

Her phone buzzing made her look down only to find that Yang had already sent her another message.

 ** _Mehh, it doesnt matter to me, how bout we figure it out 2morrow?_**

Blake chuckled. Looks like another thing she, surprisingly, had in common with the blonde.

 ** _See u there, then_** was her reply.

Moments later, she found herself chuckling yet again as she read Yang's reply.

 ** _Srsly cant wait til 2morrow_**

She smiled because she felt the same way too.

Because it was another thing Blake had in common with Yang.

* * *

 **Author's Notes : Yay! We get to see more Ruby and the rest of Blake's fami- I mean, friends! Yeah, friends.**

 **And, before you panic on how dark and feisty Sun gets when talking about Yang, it's not because he's jealous. It's because he considers Blake to be his little sister. It's always been how I view their relationship, even in cannon RWBY.**

 **Also, in case you're wondering, this story will have a plot. In fact, I've put in some not-so-subtle foreshadowing~ as to when the plot will start… let's just say that… it's… yeah, I won't spoil you, it's a surprise! :D**

 **Oh, I've also finally put in the White Rose pairing in the description/summary of the story. Why? Because all this time I've actually forgotten to put it… and… yeah, I forgot and I was too lazy to change it until recently.**

 **There are so much things I want to talk about, mostly about the characters (Weiss, Sun, Neptune, Glynda … yes, even Glynda) because they each will play an important role in future plots.**

 **But, well… I'll talk about them when they start actually being important. Or you could DM me and ask about it. I don't really mind.**

 **Also, fun little fact; Yang never curses in front of Ruby, or at least she tries not too. It's why that, in Yang and Ruby's interactions, there are almost no cursings at all. Meanwhile, Blake and her gang are all teenage-adults, so they can speak more freely. Though, Sun and Neptune curses most.**

* * *

 **Guest : Ahh, crap, a small writing-error. I probably won't be able to fix it soon tho. But hopefully I will… someday… one day… if I'm not busy… and lazy… yeah, probably never, but hopefully, not-never!**

 **Lokfun1995 : Ouch, my heart… Am I actually… feeling something? What is thi- is this happiness? Oh my, it seems your words have moved my heart, dear sir or madame, they had caused it to beat in joy. I thank you ;)**

 **Zed : Yay! Glad you liked it!**

 **meeyaaargh3412 : Happy to know you like it! Also, I love how you noticed the detail about the restaurant belonging to Coco. I've always loved her, and maybe I'll include her in the story since her role is the owner of the restaurant! :3**

 **M : Thank you for your review, I'll be sure to keep doing that!**

 **Guest : Thanks! :D**

 **Mattricole : Huh, really, I have no idea people struggle to write out date scenes and conversations. I personally love writing it, it's been the one thing (I think) I excel at when it comes to writing. It just feels so… natural. And not to mention fun! Also, thanks for your review! :)**


	8. Oblivious

Blake's eyes scanned the entire crowd, looking for a girl with yellow hair and purple eyes. Or more specifically, an amazing, clever girl with long, wild mane glowing so brightly it made everything looked grey in comparison, and eyes looking like the amethyst gem itself.

Her apprehensive eyes flashed back towards her phone, re-reading the message for what felt like a millionth time.

 ** _At the cinema rn, where r u?_**

After the message had been sent, which was only a few minutes ago, Blake had been restlessly searching for her new friend, deeply monitoring each and every one of the people, determined to find her new good friend.

The faunus stood right at the entrance at the cinema, fiddling with the cords of her hoodie. It was, surprisingly, very calming, though Blake wondered if it was because of the material of the cloth itself or just her mind tricking her into believing so.

Because the planned event itself was casual, Blake decided to wear a less formal attire. A dark grey hoodie covering a black panther shirt underneath it, followed by black jeans and a pair of sneakers.

She was more comfortable in these clothing, slightly more confident too.

The girl didn't know what movie they were going to watch. Actually, she didn't even know what movie was played in this cinema. She opted that, since Yang was more familiar with this place due to living here, she'd let the blonde pick.

… She hoped Yang had at least a decent taste in movies, otherwise the next two or three hours would be torture for her.

The sound of laughter flattened Blake's ears, not because Blake herself was bothered by the happy sound, rather, her sensitive ears was to blame.

People tend to avoid different types of things. Some always tried to avoid small spaces. Others insects and spiders. For Blake, it was large crowd. She didn't know if it was due to how she was raised (somehow?) or because she was a cat faunus, meaning she had much more sensitive senses, especially in the hearing department.

A ping indicated she'd gotten another message.

 ** _Heyyy, think i spot yaa xp can u spot me?_**

After reading it, she quickly turned her phone off to search through the crowds yet again, this time, much more determined.

 _Okay, okay, long yellow hair, sort-of tall, nice-_

A pair of soft hands covered her eyes.

"Guess who~" a voice sang, one which was very familiar.

"Hmm… could it be?" Blake faked her bewilderment. "My great great grandma?"

"What?!" The two arms released her from her temporary blindness, and, moments later, the blonde was already in front of her, wearing a face of mock hurt. Blake found Yang's reaction priceless. "Do I sound that old?"

Without missing a beat, the faunus answered swiftly, "No, you sound much older."

"You've wound me." Yang's face showed Blake had done anything but.

The faunus rolled her eyes and picked up her phone, checking the time. "Huh," she commented, both eyebrows raised slightly in a feeling of impressed, "Looks like we're both early."

"Oh, we are?" Yang peeked to the girl's phone, then rubbed her neck and playfully laughed. "Jeez, I had no idea."

Blake smirked. "We're supposed to meet up at eleven sharp, now's only ten forty."

"Hey," the blonde defended with a grin. "I'm not the _only_ one who's early."

"That's because I have nothing to do all day," Blake countered, easily.

"Well, you know what they say," Yang said, slowly walking towards the cashier by Blake's side. "The early bird catches the worm."

It was then did Blake really pay attention towards what Yang was wearing. It was nothing fancy, really, just a simple yellow t-shirt with a large fire emblem, followed by a dark blue jeans and a pair of sneakers.

Blake noticed that she wasn't just looking at what Yang was wearing, but rather, she was looking at _how_ the shirt was being worn.

And… well, putting it mildly… it looked good.

 _Nope, don't go there, Blake,_ she chided herself.

Blake decided she should distract herself somehow before she got caught. So, without giving it much thought, Blake said, "That may be, but the second mouse gets the cheese."

Yang looked at her wide-eyed, appearing very impressed. "Really?" she asked, not unlike a child when told something new about the world.

The fact that someone- no, not just anyone, but Yang of all people was affected by her words soared her rarely touched pride.

"It's the actually how the sentence goes," Blake said, doing her best to hide her excitement. "I read about it once while I was hiding." Blake knew Yang must be confused.

"Hiding?"

Blake tilted her head to look at her. Wearing a cheshire grin, she said, "From people."

Yang burst out laughing, earning a few odd looks from many people. In fact, now that Blake peeked at her surrounding, she noticed that many people were looking at them strangely, some of them came across as confused, trying to remember something.

 _How have I not notice this before?_ Blake questioned internally, mortified by her own obliviousness.

She then looked back at Yang… and deadpanned. _Oh, that's why…_

 _Because I'm with Yang…_

"So what do you think?" Yang asked, gesturing towards the list of movies being played at the cinema today.

Blake's eyebrow rose the more she looked into those titles.

After quite some time of pondering, the faunus described the movie the way she truly saw it, momentarily forgetting Yang was there.

"So we have a cheesy romance movie that looks low-budget, a mindless action movie, or a sequel of an already bad horror movie."

She blinked a few times before her cheeks changed into a light shade of red, very self-conscious of what she'd said.

 _Did I just…_

Her self-consciousness deceased, however, when Yang began to laugh.

"Man, couldn't've said it better myself," she said only, snickering. "So… bad horror movie sequel?" the blonde offered, shrugging ever so slightly. "I mean, the theater's probably emptier so it's quieter."

Blake nodded with a sly smirk.

Yang grinned even wider at that smirk.

"Alright then!" the blonde cheered, advancing towards the cashier.

The woman working there was a faunus, Blake noted. She had two large bunny ears on top of them. She seemed friendly and approachable, though that was more likely due to her line of work.

Upon noticing their arrival, the woman gasped, pointing towards Blake.

 _Here goes…_

"Oh my," the faunus said, her voice tinged with an accent. "You're… you're…"

The dark-haired girl finished off the girl's thoughts lamely. "Yes, I'm… me."

"C-can I take a picture?"

At that expected request, amber eyes quickly darted onto lilac, wordlessly asking for permission. Blake didn't want Yang to get offended or feel left out or… well, genuinely dislike it.

Much to her surprise, the blonde looked back at her with nothing but warm interest.

"Well, do you want to, Blake?" She blinked at the blonde curiously. "I mean, I can help take your picture," Yang kindly offered.

"Oh, um, alright," Blake said whilst nodding.

"Ahh! Thank you so much!" The rabbit faunus screeched, joining her two hands in delight.

They granted the girl's request. Yang took a lot of pictures of the two faunuses together, afterwards, the rabbit faunus took a lot more selfies.

 _Huh, I'm surprised she's the only one who wants to take a picture with me,_ Blake thought absentmindedly, when all of a sudden…

"Hey, isn't she Blake Belladonna from Hunters and Huntresses!?"

"Oh my Dust, she totally is!"

… _I just jinxed it, didn't I?_

* * *

True to Yang's predictions, the theatre was empty. Literally. They were the only ones watching the movie.

Blake felt bad about the producers of this movie. Even though the first movie was bad, and this sequel likely would be too, she couldn't ignore the amount of hardwork and dedication put into the film.

After all, while the first movie was bad… it certainly was better than some other movies Blake had somehow found and watched…

When her body fell into the seat, Blake couldn't help but let out a sigh.

Besides her, she heard Yang doing the same, albeit a little more vocally.

"Man, that was… a lot of selfies." Blake cringed.

"Yeah, sorry about that," she apologized, even if she partly knew it wasn't her fault.

"What? Don't be," Yang quickly declined, waving her hand. "It's nice to see you care about your fans."

Blake smiled in return. "Of course I do," she confessed, "I wouldn't be here without them." The girl gestured to the movie screen in front of them, currently showing a movie trailer. "Plus, it's not like we're late."

"Not like it's a good film in the first place," Yang chuckled. Her lilac eyes lit up and she offered out of the blue, "Hey, how about we make a bet?"

"A bet?" Blake inquired.

She was personally a fan of gambling and betting, the concept of believing an event would happen in a certain way to the point where she was risking something excited her.

"Yeah!" Yang grinned. "Whoever can predict the movie better wins!"

Blake's eyes narrowed, already accepting the challenge.

She hummed.

"Alright, I accept it. If I win you'll have to…" A new sense of direction, pride; undeterred will consumed her pools of amber. "Take a picture with me."

"Eh?" The blonde's mere tone of voice defined her confusion already.

Blake leaned closer towards her, her smile fading, and in replacement, a frown.

"All this time, you could've ask me for a photo," she calmly stated, "yet, you didn't; you never. Even when others ask you to take their pictures, you could've ask them to return the favour." Amber eyes narrowed. "But you didn't."

It had been something Blake thought was odd when they first met. Yang could've asked for her picture since the beginning, since it wouldn't be weird at all for a fan to ask for a picture… yet, the blonde never did that.

And Blake, she… she wanted to ask why, but she knew that if she did, the blonde would probably shrug it off or said that she forgot. So she wouldn't.

She would only guess.

"If I win," she continued, finishing her bargain, "you'll take many pictures with me and post it on everything, every social media."

When the musician was done, she saw, through her gifted sight, how incredibly red the girl's cheeks was. And Blake knew she wasn't any better.

 _Why did I say all of that?! I sound like I'm quoting from a romance novel! Wait- romance?!_

Blake decided to get rid of those thoughts - whatever those were - and focused on the girl in front of her, who hadn't said a word after her… heartfelt speech.

"Are you alright?" she asked, considering if she should put her hand on her forehead, judging her temperature in case of any sickness.

"Wha- no, no!"

Blake raised an eyebrow at how that was phrased, being the literature-admirer she was.

"I mean yes!" Yang quickly corrected herself, much to the girl's approval. "I'm fine, I just didn't expect you to be that thoughtful, is all…"

Blake was glad that nothing resembling anger nor disgust was present on her tone of voice. Otherwise, she wouldn't know what to say or how to act.

Especially since Blake herself didn't even know what she was talking about when she blurted out all of… that.

Yang cleared her throat. "Right, if I win you'll have to… smile more often."

A black eyebrow was re-raised. "Smile?"

"Yeah." For some reason, Yang looked away, her face hidden beneath those golden locks. "I mean, you already look nice, but… you look even nicer when you smile."

It was now Blake's turn to have her cheeks glow a bright red.

 _Is she… flirting with me?_ Blake quickly shook those thoughts out of her head, remembering how pick-up lines usually didn't involve the flirt being bashful or embarrassed.

"T-thanks." Blake didn't know what else to say.

The lights simultaneously went off, indicating that the movie would began in another few minutes.

"So, what do you think will happen?" Yang asked.

"What?" Blake asked back, not quite understanding what she meant.

"In the movie, I mean." Yang gave her a cocky, playful smirk. "I think that the main character, which definitely is the guy since he was also one in the original, will find some kind of… ancient ghost artifact and bring it home. Then, the ghost that owns the artifact-thingie will get mad because his… thing is gone, and haunts the girl."

 _Not a bad thought,_ Blake said in her mind, internally applauding the blonde for her creative thinking.

However, she smirked deliberately and said, "I _know_ the main character will be the girl. She thinks she's being haunted, but in the end, it's all in her head, including the guy; it's all a figment of her imagination. The guy has been dead for years."

"...What kind of prediction is that?"

Blake frowned and looked at Yang, who immediately flinched and retreated. "I mean, I'm not saying that it's horrible, but still…" Lilac eyes narrowed, partly in disgust, and partly in confusion.

Blake scoffed. "Oh? So you think your prediction's better?" she challenged.

"Puh-lease," Yang ran her fingers through her hair, an action Blake found to be ridiculously charming. "My prediction _is_ better."

There was silence. It was broken by both Yang's and Blake's laughter.

"You are so gonna eat those words," Blake teased.

"You wish," responded Yang.

 _If only she knew…_

The movie began with the boy and the girl in their room, the boy seemingly working on something and the girl simply watching him.

"See!" Yang exclaimed, pointing towards the screen. "I told you the boy's the main character!"

Blake only spared her a glance which lasted a second. "Just watch."

As the movie progressed, the two girls laughed at every little detail they find unrealistic and amusing, pointing it out and making fun of it. Such as how the girl decided to walk into a dark room in the middle of the night. And how she chose to approach danger instead of calling the cops.

"Ugh, fine," Yang eventually sighed. "You win on this round, the main character is the girl whose name I've already forgotten."

Blake smirked. It always felt good to be right. "Told you."

"But," Yang exclaimed pridefully, "I'm still convinced there's gonna be an artifact! Like a game board or a lamp!"

"A lamp?" Blake questioned.

Yang looked at her, dead serious. "Yes. A lamp." Blake blinked at her several times, when she grasped Yang wasn't joking, she giggled. "Hey, I'm serious!" The blonde pouted when the faunus only laughed even louder. "There will be a possessed lamp! Just wait!"

"Alright, alright, we'll see," the faunus answered, wiping away a tear.

The supposed 'ghost' started appearing, scaring the girl. No one could see or feel it except for the couple, which Yang commented was weirdly romantic. The main character's sister appeared and started talking with the girl.

Blake smirked as she recognize the lines.

"Her sister's gonna ask who the boy is, and it'll be revealed that the boy wasn't real," Blake said. She could feel Yang's gaze on her before the blonde continued watching the movie again.

Her prediction was correct. The main character's sibling was shocked when hearing about the boy, who was her supposed fiancee, and told her no one had seen the boy. Then, a flashback appeared, revealing the truth, that the girl had been talking to nobody all this time.

She could _feel_ Yang's jaw dropping.

Blake made damn sure her tone was casual when she said, "Oh yeah, have I told you this movie was based off of a book… which I have read?"

Blake tilted her head to meet Yang's lilac-colored eyes, which was tinted with astonishment and dumbfoundedness.

To put it simply, Yang looked like she didn't know what emotion to put on her face, so decided to wear them all at once.

"Wha- I- you," the girl kept sputtering things that, even with Blake's sensitive hearing, couldn't be understood. Eventually, Yang took a forced deep breath and exclaimed, "That's not fair! You never told me you knew what would happen!"

"I never said I didn't." Yang looked very taken aback by the girl's words. Blake found it hilariously cute how the girl looked when she was thinking, and realised how right the faunus was.

"Well I… but still…" The blonde crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks, refusing to look at her.

Blake chuckled and tried to comfort the big child. "For what it's worth, I'll smile more for you."

Yang mumbled, thinking the girl with extra ears couldn't hear her, "That'd be really great."

Blake started wondering, her attention slowly focusing away from the movie.

 _I wonder how many fans there is that acts like Yang?... I wonder IF there's even a fan out there that treats me the way Yang does…_

A question unraveled. One that slowly ate her away. One that she'd been dreading to ask, but didn't know who to. She looked at Yang and thought how perfect the girl was to be thinking about this question.

"Hey, Yang?"

"Yeah?" The blonde tilted her head to look at her. Blake guessed her face gave it away, because Yang soon frowned and asked, "What is it?"

Blake subconsciously fiddled with her hoodie cord, biting her own lip in anticipation and dreadfulness.

"Do you… do you think it's fair? How I treat my fans?"

Yang blinked. "What kind of question is that?"

Blake was a little taken aback by the question. "Well, I just- I never talked that much with them, and…" What words she'd planned to say was overlooked when she felt a soft touch on her hand; warm, ghostly, comforting.

She looked down, finding that it belonged to Yang, cherishing how soft and small it was compared to her own…

Yang's eyes shone with deep determination. She believed in what she wanted to say, so much so that Blake believed with her, even when she didn't know _what_ to believe.

"Blake," her voice was unlike before. It was now much deeper, raspier; much more raw. "All this time we've hung out, you never once mistreated me. I've never seen you mistreat anyone in any way, let alone a fan. So, don't worry about it, alright?"

Blake nodded, not because she agreed, but because she couldn't say anything, too much in awe.

Yang flashed her a grin that made everything look brighter. "Great!"

While the blonde happily watched the horrible movie, snickering every now and then, Blake simply watched Yang.

She thought long and hard about the words Yang had used to comfort her. The choice of words, her resolve when she'd said those things; everything.

It all lead to one question.

"Have you ever felt the same way?"

Yang didn't answer at first, and the girl was about to reconsider explaining a bit more when the blonde finally spoke.

"No, not really…" Lilac eyes gazed down on her own joined hands, fidgeting every so often, thinking deeply. "I mean, sure, sometimes I wonder if I'm a bit of a jerk… but, then I look at Ruby and think that 'Hey, if she admires me, then how bad can I be?'"

Yang turned her eyes to look at pools of amber, and smiled. Not a cheerful, confident, wide grin. Not a mischievous, sly smirk. But a truthful one; a genuine one.

"All I want is to protect the people I care about and make them happy, that's my top priority."

Blake's eyes dulled down.

"... Then… we live in different worlds."

Yang's smile withered, but it was still there, weak as it may be.

"Yeah…"

Slowly, but surely, lilac eyes blinked back onto the screen. Blake found herself doing the same thing.

Their conversation still lingered in her head, but she chose not to dwell on it too much… no, she didn't want to.

Much to her surprise and relief, the blonde seemed to be acting like her normal self again after what felt like eternity.

"Man… can't believe this movie is actually worse than the first one," Yang joked, her signature smile present and blooming.

"Agreed." Blake nodded with a much smaller smile.

The protagonist of the movie heard a noise, then she looked back… and the movie ends.

Blake sighed in disappointment.

"Wait, hold on, that's it?!" Yang looked back and forth between the girl and the screen, her index finger raised in questioning. "H-how, I- what? Just… what the hell?"

"The book is much better," Blake shrugged, "in the author's defense."

They walked out of the cinema, with Yang still ranting about how unacceptable the ending was- how unacceptable the whole movie was. She complaint about the character's unrealistic acting, about the not-so-special special effects, and many more.

Blake simply listened, amused with the blonde's frustration.

When Yang had somewhat calmed down - though she wasn't that angry in the first place, Blake questioned, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

When Yang's eyes met hers, Blake could've sworn she saw red in those pupils. Not bloodshot, but her irises were in a shade of red.

She doubted herself when Yang blinked a few times, the color slowly disappearing, replaced with the gentle lilac Blake had always known.

"No?" A yellow eyebrow rose.

"Our bet?" Blake tried again.

"Wha- oh…" Lilac eyes widened, now filled with understanding. "Right. Here!" She pulled out her phone, clicking the camera app.

"Make sure to post it on everything, alright?" Blake warned.

"You got it, Boss!" Yang giggled, taking a lot of pictures. The blonde let out a few childish, over exaggerated poses, while the musician just smiled, feeling a little shy in front of cameras.

Afterwards, the blonde suddenly frowned. Blake was about to ask what was wrong when Yang piped, "H-hey, um, Blake?"

"Yeah?" she answered a little warily. During the times they'd hung out, Yang had become less and less embarrassed and shy in front of her. She no longer stuttered. She was more confident in telling jokes. And she was genuinely… happy.

So for her to start stuttering again. _I have a bad feeling about this…_

"So…" Yang started worriedly, "there's this… well, my sister is going to perform tomorrow night at the Adel cafe- you know, the one we went yesterday?"

"How can I forget? It's like it happened yesterday." Blake rolled her eyes, but a smile soon found its way on her mouth.

"Hehe, well, I was thinking… maybe you could, um… go with me? Together? You should definitely invite your friends too! I'm sure they'll love it! My sister's great at what she does! What do you think?"

 _Oh… is that it?_ Blake thought to herself as a sense of relief washed over her.

"That actually sounds… great." The more Blake thought about it, the more she realised how wonderful it was and the many opportunities it held. "Weiss and the boys actually have been wanting to meet you! Tomorrow will be perfect!"

She could have her friends meet Yang! They would actually be meeting Yang. She already started imagining their interactions with her. Not to mention how she herself could meet Yang's sister known as Ruby.

It would be perfect… simply perfect.

"Really?" Yang was at her own disbelief herself, and Blake couldn't blame her. It was all too good to be true.

"Yes!" Blake nodded. "When will it start?"

"At around 9 PM! I- you're sure about this?" Yang looked at Blake, their eyes meeting each other, lilac trying to find anything untruthful in amber. They found find none.

"Of course I am!" Blake realised how loud she was, and swallowed before continuing in a much softer tone. "Everyone's curious about you. I really want them to meet you too." She smiled a honest smile. "They'll love you."

Yang's eyes widened in gratefulness before it narrowed back down as she naughtily smirked. "Of course, who wouldn't?"

Blake frowned and playfully jabbed Yang. "You're insufferable." Yang gave her a shrug and another smile. "In all honesty," she sighed, "thank you."

The shade of lilac softened. Yang smiled at her with one which caused Blake's stomach to be filled with butterflies.

"Of course."

* * *

"Weiss!" Blake called out as she opened the door to her room, an ear-to-ear smile present on her face.

On her way home, she'd been non-stop thinking about Yang's offer. She herself still had a hard time believing it. She couldn't wait to see the look on the heiress' face.

"What?! What is it!?" an all too familiar voice called out. Weiss appeared in her bed, though moments later, she was right in front of Blake, her blue eyes roaming her body, no doubt inspecting her.

 _There she is._

Blake grabbed the petite girl's shoulder, smiling widely. "Weiss, you're not going to believe this! Yang just invited me tomorrow night to watch her sister perform!" Her smile, if at all possible, grew wider. "She wants you guys to come too!"

"What?!" the simple word was asked in such a surprise, yet it held another emotion… one much more subdued and hidden.

"Isn't it great?" Blake said, more towards herself than the girl, if she were being honest. "You can finally meet Yang, isn't that what you want?"

"Blake, you-"

"And Sun too!" Blake cut off, unable to contain herself. "I'm betting he and Yang's gonna get along great!"

In a much firmer tone, Weiss said, "Blake, listen-"

"Do you think Miss Goodwitch would want to come too?" Blake said in carelessness, unaware of the coming storm. "I know she's always busy but-"

"Excuse me."

The two girls looked behind them. The source of the voice was a young man wearing a formal outfit; the roomboy.

"You told me there were, um… luggage problems?"

Blake's smile faltered. "What?"

"N-no, please," Weiss waved, "cancel the order. We'll call you again tomorrow, thank you."

The boy nodded. "You're welcome, Miss," was all he said before he left.

Blake could feel Weiss' eyes looking at her with great worry. But she didn't care. Her eyes looked down in trepidation. Her chest felt heavy. Her breathing was surely quickening.

 _No. No. No. This can't be happening. This CANNOT be happening._

"Blake… have you forgotten…?"

Weiss voice. It was so soft, so warm… but it only reminded Blake of _her._

 _No. Please. Don't say it. Weiss, please don't say it._

"We'll be leaving tomorrow."

* * *

 **Author's Notes : You thought the title being "Oblivious" meant Yang and Blake's feelings towards each other and how the other was oblivious of it…**

 **Boy were you wrong!**

 **It actually refers to Blake's obliviousness to the fact that she can't stay here forever; that she has a responsibility…**

 **That she'll have to say goodbye to Yang.**

 **I know, pretty dark, right? But didn't I tell you before that this story will have a plot? And when the plot starts… you just…**

 **I'm guessing you didn't expect the plot to come this soon right? Nor did you expect it to be something like this.**

 **Don't worry, it gets even darker from here :)**

 **Also, a friend of mine (their name is 0) pointed out how the story can sometimes feel a little forced, and, I agree with them. The reasoning behind it isn't because I force myself to write, rather, because I force myself to write until it reached 5k words… which is why that, starting from now on… I won't.**

 **Look, I'm sure the chapters are still gonna be 4k or more, but um, just in case any of the chapter feels to short… just know that it's because if I make it longer, I'm afraid it'll feel too forced and unnatural and boring.**

 **Plus, if I write shorter chapters, that means I'll get to update my stories more frequently! So that's a yay, right?**

 **So… um… well, the next chapter's title probably gonna be something like "Bleak" or "Dull" to represent Blake's mood. Or, maybe, I don't know… "Reality" or something. I'm still thinking about it.**

 **So, yeah… Jeez, I sure do say "So" a lot huh… yeah, um, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please review because I really love reading them regardless of what they say (Although please don't be a jerk and comment mean things.) Reviews always make my day better. Whenever I'm bored or tired and there's a new review I'll instantly feel better… so yeah… please review.**

 **I hope you have a nice day, and if you don't, then I'm sorry, and tomorrow's gonna be better for you… Bye~**

* * *

 **Fraguess : Thank you! I'll try :)**

 **0 (Chapter 6) : Like I explained before, I don't force myself to write, per se… I just force myself to write a certain amount. I genuinely enjoy writing this story!**

 **Ahh… yes… "Show, don't tell," they say… frick, I can't do anything now except promising that I'll do better, so… I promise I'll do better.**

 **The reason why Blake isn't exactly in character is because her personality changes between volume 1-3, 4, and 5, so it's kinda hard to make her "Blakey" since the term itself is very loose. I'll do my best to show more of her "introverted" side though, maybe even make it a plot somehow.**

 **P.S… about that…**

 **P.P.S, I'll consider it when I'm not so busy. Sorry, I love that story, but right now, I've got school and… I want writing as a stress-relief and nothing more.**

 **Complicated Kurumi : Yay! I'm glad you like it! Character-writing is the best thing I love about writing! I'm glad you like it! I love putting small details into each and every interaction, it just make things more realistic.**

 **meeyaaargh3412 : For now, I simply want to say that they're being overprotective since they see Blake as a sister-ish figure, and well… how would you react if your sister suddenly goes out with a stranger.**

 **THATANIMOOKID : Thanks! So happy I can amaze you! :D I hope I can update soon too.**

 **Guest : Then you're gonna love when she meets Ruby.**

 **An : THANK YOU!**

 **FeugoFox42 : Thanks. The main goal in Chapter 7 was to show each and every character and how they interact with each other. It was a challenge for me to write out how they would speak each things and their body language, but in the end, I think it turned out great.**


	9. Dull

"Rubyroo! I'm home~" Yang sung as she threw the door open, eyes glancing throughout the living room. She frowned when there wasn't any answer, and tried again. "And I got some… umm, strawberry-flavored cookies!" she bribed.

Still nothing.

"Rubes?" she was growing a little concerned, and was about to start aimlessly wander all over the apartment when she felt a buzz coming from her pockets. Opening it up, she was relieved to find that the message came from her sister, meaning she was alright… _hopefully._

 _ **JIC ure worryin, dont worry, im at the resto practicing 4 2morrow night :p**_

She thought gladly, _Okay, she isn't kidnapped at least_ , as she typed in a reply confirming when that the brunette should come home at least on 7 PM and messaged her every hour to make sure nothing went wrong.

After Yang had sent her message, her phone died.

"Ah, shit," she cursed freely without a care, now that her precious innocent sister wasn't home.

She went into her room, locating the outlet but not a charger.

"Where did I put it…?" Yang mumbled to herself as she searched through her messy room.

After one full-minute of throwing things around she'd found it. "Aha!" she shouted in victory, quickly plugging the device into the outlet.

She let out a sigh of contentment after confirming that her phone was, indeed, charging.

Not wanting to bore herself, Yang intended to find her laptop, but came across something much better instead.

The pick Blake let her have.

Yang still could vividly remembered when first finding it. How she'd contemplated on going after the faunus to give her it.

She still remembered how she almost gasped loudly when finding out how the girl would want her to have it.

Every single detail; she remembered.

Even now, she put it on the table as a kind of trophy, away from all of her other things.

Sighing blissfully, Yang grabbed the triangular object and looked at it.

 _This was Blake's…_

For a few minutes, Yang simply looked at it and fidgeted with it, all the while humming a tune she knew must come from one of Hunters and Huntresses' songs.

 _Hmm… maybe I could make this as a some kind of bracelet…_ she thought mildly.

Afterwards, she looked back at her phone, finding it to only be 3%.

"Damn," she muttered, immediately leaving it to regain more battery.

She decided to stay in the living room and played with her laptop.

 _Huh, come to think of it, I haven't checked my Twitter for a while…_ she thought eagerly, unaware of what was to come.

When she opened that app, she was mentally baraged by many, _many_ notifications.

Most of them were from people who followed her, ranging from her closest, most trustworthy friends to people she never knew. They all had one thing in common, she had noted.

They were all asking about Blake.

When did she and Blake hang out? Can they meet her? What about the rest of the band, did she hang out with them too?

They were that, and so much _more._

Yang was very overwhelmed. She, at first, wondered how they knew that she had befriended the famous musician Blake Belladonna, but afterwards remembered about their silly bet together.

She hadn't been expecting this at all. Yang cringed, really wanting to just close the tab and forget it all ever happened, but she felt bad about not responding to any of them, even her close friends.

After taking a deep long breath to psychologically prepare herself, Yang told herself, "This is gonna be hard…"

* * *

Yang checked the time and was unbelieving of what it told; she had been replying to all of those messages for half an hour. She had started at 5, and it was currently 6. And that wasn't even all of them!

The blonde had started out with the people she was close with. Afterwards, she started… moving towards the people she had hung out once or twice with… yet there was still so many…

Yang decided it was best if she simply ignored the ones coming from strangers or even people she barely knew, otherwise she would never stop.

She closed her laptop and blinked her eye several times, already feeling a headache from using it for far too long from how she'd normally use it without any breaks at all.

She suddenly remembered about Ruby, and wanted to check on her.

After letting out a breath of solace when finding out her battery was no longer in the red, she messaged Ruby, telling her to go home.

The brunette didn't respond yet, Yang assured herself several times that her little sister was okay, and she only didn't respond because she was busy.

There was a new message. It came from Blake.

Lilac eyes lit up in excitement, guessing what the musician wanted to say to her. She didn't care if she appeared too clingy or obsessive, she just wanted to chat with the faunus about… well, whatever it was the Blake wanted to talk about.

She didn't care if Blake talked about certain books she loved that Yang had no idea of - on the contrary, she loved listening to Blake speak of what she loved, it was so fun to know just how much passion the girl held for what she enjoyed.

Yang literally wouldn't care if Blake chose to talk about the weather.

However, when she opened it…

 _ **Yang, I'm sorry, I can't come 2morrow**_

Golden eyebrows furrowed. Yang wondered what was wrong; Blake seemed excited yesterday, more excited than the blonde would've thought. So… why did she suddenly cancel their plan?

… Something was wrong.

Her fingers were right above the screen as she thought deeply and rationally about what she should say and how she should say it. But in the end, she decided to ask straight to the point; _**Blake, whats wrong?**_

Because she knew that, as significant the event was, Blake mattered more.

So Yang sat there alone in the corner, waiting for Blake to answer. The fact in which the faunus didn't immediately respond set off many of Yang's internal panic alarms.

She tried again. _**Blake? Pls talk to me**_

Finally, after her long wait, the musician gave her a reply.

The world suddenly was empty and cold.

Yang read the text. It wasn't even a long one, yet she re-read it again, and again, and again, making absolutely damn sure what she was reading… what Blake was telling her… was real.

She searched through every little detail, hoping to find a small clue that indicate it was all just some kind of prank…

Even when she knew Blake wasn't the type to joke about this… It just couldn't be true, right?

 _ **I'm leaving**_

Yang simply… couldn't believe it.

A laugh escaped her. It was anything but a happy laugh. She forced it out. She laughed because if she didn't…

 _ **Blake? Are u joking?**_

 _ **This has gotta be a joke, right?**_

Yang waited there for what felt like hours. She needed Blake to tell her something, anything. She couldn't… she couldn't handle not being informed.

 _Please, Blake. Tell me this is a joke. I'm begging you,_ the blonde thought. If the musician was actually there, Yang might've said it outloud.

… If Blake actually was there, Yang might've done many things.

The phone had automatically turned off. She didn't even realise it.

The sun had been long gone. She didn't even realise it.

Her sister had yet to come home. Still, she didn't realise it.

A thought one would find irrational spoke to her:

 _Why are you like this? It's not like you guys are close or anything, right?_

A mist clouding her head faded away. Yang blinked several times, looking around her room as if it were foreign, and stood up, intent on doing something… anything, all the while letting those thoughts run wildly.

 _You girls just met each other like, what, three days? No, no, less than that I think._

She filled a cup with water, its sound deafening her ears. Yet the voice was still there.

 _Hell, are you guys even friends? Who knows, maybe she never really cares for you._

Yang gulped down the cup hastily, greedily, and slammed it onto the counter, gritting her teeth.

She was angry. No, not really because those thoughts bothered her… but because of how true they were.

 _Maybe she already knows from the start, and decides to play with your feelin-_

"No," she said, stopping those thoughts from spreading even more. "Blake wouldn't do that to me."

 _How do you know for sure?_

"Because I know her!" Yang shouted, her arms clenched into fists.

A single tear escaped her eyes. Lilac eyes widened, just now realising she was crying.

"Dammit," she whispered, not wanting her voice to sound so fragile.

 _Why are you crying?_

Sometimes… sometimes Yang wasn't even sure if the voice she heard in her own temple belonged to her.

 _Have you known her for long?_

"I've known her for eight months," she answered, doubting her own words more and more as time passed.

The flame inside her - one of determination, of hope, of fury, of believe - slowly died down. Like a small candle being blown away. She was beginning to… numb.

 _Has she known you for long?_

"No." At that answer, she leaned against the counter, unsure if her own legs would support her weight. Everything was heavy. Everything was bleak. Everything was…

Everything was dull.

 _Do you really see her as a friend?_

"Never," she confessed, a finger travelling towards her cheek, feeling the wetness of it. "Not even now."

 _Does she really see you as a friend?_

"I don't know…" She looked down as she said those words.

 _You're lying._

A sigh fled from her lips.

"No… to her I'm just one of her fans…"

A part of her screamed towards her, begging her not to think that way; not to think as if she didn't matter to Blake.

It conflicted her.

 _If she cares, then she'll respond,_ the statement rang in her head.

Her legs carried her back to her room, where her phone was. It was there, on the desk, right where she'd left it. Yang closed the distance.

Looking down at it, her arm was already outstretched.

But she held herself.

 _You already know the answer,_ the voice said.

Yang bit her lip, her arm trembled, her pulse hastened. "Just turn it on…" she reasoned.

Seconds passed. It slowly turned to minutes.

One foot took a step back. Then the other. Her arm fell, dangling limply by her side. Her tear-stricken eyes looked away. Her mouth bleed, being bitten too much. Her knuckles were white.

"She doesn't care, does she…?"

The voice was no longer. It was simply her and this feeling of… dullness. Of emptiness. Of nothingness.

Of being alone.

Of the realisation that she won't be seeing Blake anymore.

Of the knowingness that yet _another_ person had abandoned her again.

Her lips formed into a thin line. Those lilac slowly calmed, showing nothing but acceptance.

She sighed.

"Why am I like this?" A hand ran up to gently caressed her forehead, consulting herself. "It's not like I matter to her." She almost flinched at her own words. A part of her still didn't want it to be true: A part that she buried, after all, it was the truth, whether she liked it or not, and she had to accept it.

Her phone buzz.

In a fraction of a second, for just a short moment, her eyes glinted with hope, thinking that maybe it was Bla-

No.

No, it wasn't. The screen proved it was just Ruby, calling her.

She grabbed her phone, placing it against her ear after accepting the call.

" _Hey, Sis!"_ the joyous voice of the brunette singed.

Yang couldn't bring herself to answer yet. Not like it mattered, since the girl cluelessly kept talking.

" _So… turns out practise is longer than I thought, it was kinda hard to set up the equipment since I'll be using WR instead of Crescent,"_ a laughter, probably reminiscing the fond memory. " _But don't worry, Jaune and I got it now, also, we met this nice girl named Velvet, she said she knew the manager…"_

Ruby kept talking on and on. Yang was glad. She knew Ruby would, in an instance, sense something was wrong if she heard even one word coming out of the blonde's mouth.

But even Yang wasn't dumb enough to hope Ruby wouldn't want her to speak at all.

" _So long story short, I probably won't be home for another two hours,"_ a nervous chuckle, " _please don't be mad?"_

Yang bit her lip before coughing just to make sure her voice sounded normal.

"Oh, yeah! Yeah, that's alright! D-don't worry, I'm not mad!" Well, technically, that wasn't a lie, since she wasn't mad… nor happy…

" _Crap, I know you- wait, what?"_ her sister asked, dumbfounded.

Yang hadn't really been paying attention to what Ruby had been saying, so she took her chances by saying, "No problem, it's cool." Her voice cracked slightly at the end. Yang could only wish her sister didn't catch that.

" _... Is something wrong?"_

Fate didn't hear her wish, apparently.

"No, no, everything's fine, don't worry! I'm fine! Really!" she blurted out without thinking her words through, which caused the sibling to be more suspicious than ever.

" _Alright, I'm coming home."_ Her voice was stern, leaving no arguments.

But Yang still tried. "W-what about your practise?" she pointed out, knowing that it was important to the girl.

" _Yeah, no, I don't care."_ Yang blinked twice, processing her sister's words. Ruby must've known her sister was lost, because the blonde could hear a sigh. " _Yang, I don't know what happened, but I KNOW when my sister's not fine. Why the heck would I want to practise while you're hurting?"_

"I- Ruby, you don't have to-"

" _Too late, I'm on my way."_ And with that, the young girl hung up, leaving Yang slightly worried and definitely touched.

It would've been silent if not for the sound of the clock ticking.

A small thought crossed her mind. Quickly, she looked at her phone.

"... Why do I even bother?" she asked herself, turning her phone off and throwing it towards the end of her bed.

Yang laughed.

She laughed because if she didn't…

She'd cry.

Her thoughts for the next long while were: _She didn't respond._

* * *

Ruby's feet tapped the elevator's floor, all the while mentally screaming at the moving box to be faster.

There were plenty of times she came to dislike how the two of them lived in the 12th floor of the apartment, this was one of those times.

She also especially hated how slow elevators were, not just this one, but all of them. People told her she was being overdramatic and that _she_ was the impatient one, but right now, she didn't care.

Yang… she was hurting.

Why? Ruby didn't know.

What kind of pain was she experiencing? Ruby didn't know either.

But that didn't mean she won't come.

Yang was not just her sister; she was her guardian, her saviour, her role model. She even became something akin of a mother figure, ever since her actual mother died.

Yang was… she was there for her when nobody else was.

Yang was strong when Ruby wasn't.

Yang _made_ herself strong just so Ruby would let herself cry.

Ruby couldn't live without her sister, and it wasn't an exaggeration.

She wouldn't know what to do without Yang.

Without her sister… she wasn't sure if she would even want to learn how to play guitar.

Ruby still remembered the day she became interested in that instrument. Her friends thought it was stupid. And her father, while he tried to be supportive, didn't truly believe she would gain anything from it.

Only one person believed in her.

And now, that person was hurting.

She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't abandon everything all at once and came running back to her apartment… literally…

The taxi took too long.

The elevator door opened with a loud 'DING!'

Without even checking if it was the right floor, Ruby bolted out of the elevator, towards their apartment room.

Seconds later, she was right in front of her door.

Ruby sent a quick message to Yang, informing the blonde of her arrival, before trying to simply open the door. Thankfully, she didn't have to fumble with the confusing keys Yang gave her, since the entrance door wasn't locked.

Black greeted her.

Ruby gulped, more of in worry than in cautiousness. Yang never left the lights off.

Yang hated the darkness. Ruby had always thought it was fitting considering her name meant 'Sunny Little Dragon' and how the blonde herself had a bright attitude. There was also the fact that her hair was basically the sun itself.

"Yang?" she tried.

Just like she'd expected, there was no response.

Ruby closed the door, careful not to make any sound.

She first check the small kitchenette, finding only one small thing that was out of place; a half full glass of water being placed at the end of the counter.

The second room she checked was, of course, Yang's own room.

She wasn't shocked to see her sister there.

She was, however, shocked to see her hugging herself in the corner of the unlit room.

"Yang!" she screamed, lunging towards her sister, wanting whatever it was that hurt her to go away.

Lilac eyes looked up at silver, and Ruby was horrified to see the lack of light present in those eyes. They were normally bright, colorful, and full of life and happiness. Yet, now they were so… empty.

"Yang, what's wrong? Are you okay? Did something happen?" she then rushed back towards the light switch, wanting to see a clearer picture of her sister's current look, just in case there was any injuries.

"Ruby, I-" the sudden brightness which filled the room assaulted the blonde's eyes, making her hiss.

When Ruby looked back onto her big sister again, she gasped, horrified to see a trail of red leaking from the girl's mouth.

"Yang!" Immediately, she was on the bed, right in front of the older girl, one hand covering her mouth in shock and the other touching the girl's cheek. "Who did this to you? Was it-"

"No, Rubes, not this time," Yang assured before her sister could even finish guessing. "I… did this to myself."

"...What?" Ruby was utterly lost.

"I got carried away," the blonde sighed, running her fingers through her golden locks. "Don't worry though, it's not that bad," she offered with a small, unYanglike smile.

The brunette sighed in response. While inspecting it, she said, "Yes it is, Yang." Ruby accidentally touched it, causing her sister to flinch in pain. Knowing how much pain her sister was trying _not_ to show, the brunette stated, "I'm gonna go get the first aid kit."

A small mutter of "Thanks" was Yang's only reply.

As Ruby walked out of her sister's room with a mission, her mind wandered.

Ruby knew there was more to it than just her sister accidentally biting her lip. And, judging by the lack of other injuries, it looked like the blonde didn't get herself into a fight, which lifted some weight from her chest.

After grabbing the small box, she rushed back to her sister's room to find the girl now sitting on the bed, looking down dejectedly.

Wordlessly, she closed the distance between them, sitting besides the blonde, motioning for the girl to look at her.

After dabbing the cotton with alcohol, Ruby whispered softly towards her elderly counterpart, "This will hurt."

Her sister didn't reply, she only watched as Ruby wiped the blood off her mouth, pressing the fabric against her bottom lip.

Ruby kept herself from looking away. She wasn't the one who was in pain. She knew Yang was hurting, but her big sister was good at hiding how much pain she was in.

She was always good.

After finishing the treatment, Ruby simply couldn't refrain herself anymore.

"Yang… what happened?"

At first, Ruby thought her sister wouldn't answer her - maybe give her a vague shrug. But, she was more than surprised when her sister gave her an answer. And it wasn't one which calmed her down the slightest.

"Blake won't come."

The brunette knew it was much more. She just needed to ask the right question. She knew what it was, but she wasn't sure if she'd like the answer.

Eventually, however, the question was asked. "Why won't she come?"

"...Because she's leaving."

Ruby's jaw dropped. "What? When is she leaving?! And why?! What about your plan?!" She internally slapped herself after running her mouth.

Lilac eyes stared into her. Ruby was terrified because of how colorless it was.

"It's not like she cares about me or anything." Those words were spoken with such calmness and coolness, it froze the brunette. "After all, we didn't even know each other for a week."

 _No, Yang…_ Ruby wanted to do many things right now. She wanted to hug the blonde. She wanted to cup her cheeks and tell her how wrong she was. She wanted her sister to lean onto her for once, to be the weak one while she forced herself to be strong just for her big sister.

But she couldn't… because she knew that wasn't what Yang needed.

Because she knew she herself wasn't _who_ Yang needed.

So Ruby just stayed and listened, even as her heart shattered, she kept herself from doing anything else.

"It's funny." Yang laughed. It was the opposite of lively. "I had plans with Blake. After she and her band watches you perform, I wanted us to go to the library, I bet she would've loved it there, we would've spend the whole day there. Then I'll take her ice-skating, I heard she doesn't know how to do it, so maybe I'll teach her, I'm even planning to ask her to be my-"

Ruby looked at her sister with a mix of complicated emotion. Startled, having no idea Yang wanted Blake to be more than just her friend. Sympathy of her sister's misfortune, not being able to ask Blake the question. Wonderment, of what would happen now.

Her sister heaved a sigh. "Whatever, even if she does accept it, it's not like it's going to be anything serious." A small pause. "She'll probably say yes just because she pities me."

The brunette couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't handle seeing her sister act this way. She needed to do something. She needed to…

An idea popped into her head. An idea that probably wouldn't work. An idea that, in retrospect, was the _opposite_ of a good idea.

But an idea she was willing to try anyway, because it was always better to do something - even if that something would potentially cause her sister to strangle her - than do nothing.

Silver eyes looked around, searching for one certain object.

 _Okay, it's not here, so maybe it's outside…_

"Yang, I'm gonna go and… um, do something," Ruby said, mentally slapping herself (again) for the horrible choice of words.

Much to her surprise and worry, her sister nodded without an ounce of suspicion… nor care for that matter.

 _Good enough, I guess,_ muttered the girl internally as she stood up, planning to leave. She stopped in her tracks, however, when she saw the object she desperately needed at the end of her bed:

Yang's phone.

 _Bingo._

* * *

 **Author's Note : Ha! First and most importantly, told ya it's gonna be something like "Dull"! Well, I mean, I know that I made this chapter and I have the freedom to choose the title, but still...**

 **Secondly, I did something different with this chapter, instead of planning ahead, I sort of… "free-style" it… yeah, don't know what to call it, but basically, I write whatever I felt was natural. So… do you like this style of writing? Or do you prefer my old one? I honestly loved this one better. I think this one's more "show" than "tell" which means it's better! But… yeah, I want to know what you gents and lads think, just in case it's horrible and I couldn't see it.**

 **Also, ohh noo… Poor Yang, she's in so much pain… are you guys in pain too? Do you feel bad for her?**

 **If so, then YUSH! It's been my plan all along! *Evil laughter***

 **I don't know if you've noticed, but why I love writing is that I can cause people to feel emotions using just words. I can make you laugh, I can make you squeal in delight, and I can make you CRY SO I CAN DRINK YOUR TEARS! Okay, too much? Yeah…**

 **I did tell you things are gonna get darker from here. And I don't mean just this chapter itself. Well, I mean, this chapter is filled with angst, but, well… you'll get what I mean sooner or later…**

 **The question is: Is it** _ **sooner**_ **, or** _ **later?**_

 ***More evil laughter***

 **Now you all see why my friends call me a psychopath (In a joking manner of course… I hope… It flippin' better be)**

 **But in all seriousness, I hope you guys like this chapter. This one's way more fun to write, and it's also kinda easy to write Yang's… well… sadness(?) since some of it is inspired by what I experienced in real life.**

 **The next chapter's… well… similar to the previous chapter, in a sense… sort of… yeah, I don't think so.**

 **Let me know what you think of this chapter! I love reading your reviews! Each and every one of them! They're always so awesome! :D**

 **Also, I'm really sorry for not being able to reply to any of your PMs (just in case any of you wrote them and I have no idea)! I don't know why, but every time I do it just sort of lags and quits. My friend told me it has something to do with laptop…? Yeah, I don't know either, I'm still trying to fix it.**

 **I hope you have a nice day today despite this depressing chapter. I also wish you have a nice day tomorrow too! Bye~!**

* * *

 **PairoS : THANK YOUUU! :D**

 **Wolf eyes : Do not worry, White Rose will began… sooner than you think.**

 **steelbone532 : Well, I guess it helps that I'm a fast writer. Also, I have a pretty killer literature at school who would give us assignments that's like, 4-5 pages long per assignment… and it's all hand-written… so yeah, compared to that, this is easy-peasy!**

 **0 : Hey again! I love it too! Especially when the readers are really invested in the characters and their lives! That's why I try my best to make my characters flawed yet likeable, so they feel real and the readers love them and don't want anything bad to happen to them! Hehe~**

 **meeyargh3412 : Don't worry, Blake forgot too ;) so, now that you know where it goes… do you think it's good?**

 **FeugoFox42 : Well, I mean, I kind of want them to stay together too, but like… conflict needs to happen or else the story gets boring. Heck, I'm pretty sure half of you already think my story is boring. And yeah, now that I think about it, I shouldn't really force myself into writing 5k words/chapter.**

 **M : Thank you for reading my work~**

 **Kuru Rinshi : Hi, Big Sis! Xp sorry I couldn't reply to your PM, I don't know why, but every time I try to read any PMs, my laptop just kinda… crashed. Also, I really miss you! Oh my god, your comment is so nice I smile just reading it! And about the Blake reading a book then watching the movie part… hehehe, that one is inspired by real life~ ;)**


	10. Who and Where

In retrospect, Ruby knew what she was planning to do was a terrible idea. It had an almost zero percent chance of working… Almost.

Because first and most importantly, she had never spoken to Blake before. She knew Yang probably had mention her 'precious little sister' once or twice, but that didn't mean Blake would want to talk to her, let alone trust her.

Heck, the brunette wasn't so sure if Blake even trusted Yang.

And even if she did, for _some_ reason, trust Ruby to a certain extent - a low extent, most definitely - it wouldn't mean she would carry out Ruby's wish.

After all, her wish could potentially ruin the entire band's career.

Looking back at it now, it really was a terrible plan.

There was almost no chance of it working.

… But she was willing to do it anyway because she was Ruby Rose and she was willing to do whatever it took to make her big sister happy, even if it meant asking a famous musician to abandon her tour to stay with Yang.

Which was how Ruby found herself leaning against the wall, right outside of her apartment door, holding her sister's phone _without_ the owner's permission, looking for Blake's number.

 _C'mon, c'mon, it's gotta be here somewhere,_ the brunette thought, her patience running thin. _Yang's gonna get suspicious soon._

After awhile of searching relentlessly for what felt like hours, though in actuality was actually seconds, she'd finally found it…

And let out a loud "Aha!"

She covered her mouth in a second, muttering a curse towards her own gracelessness.

"Rubes?" her sister called from inside. She mentally berated herself. "Did you trip on something again?"

Luckily, the girl was quick to coming up with excuses.

"Uhh, y-yeah, the wall!"

Even if those excuses were _far_ from good.

She heard a sigh, one of exhaustion and frustration, before a mumble of "...Why am I not surprised?"

Ruby pouted at that. She knew she was clumsy but she wasn't that clumsy… right?

Shaking those thoughts away, she focused on what really mattered. Calling her sister's favourite musician; Blake Belladonna.

Or, in this case, 'Cutie Kitty', stated by the contact name.

Ruby almost failed to stifle her laugh. She actually had to bite her thumb, though not too harshly, to keep herself from sounding suspicious.

 _She is SO not getting away with this_ were her naughty, if not, evil thoughts.

… Maybe she could use this as a way to blackmail Yang into giving her more cookies.

Ruby realised that she was getting distracted and sighed.

She looked down to the device that never belonged to her, and swallowed.

 _I'm gonna be in trouble for this,_ the realistic side of herself declared. The side she ignored completely, that was.

 _I can't believe I'm about to do this._

She pressed the call button.

The phone rang.

Ruby found herself leaning more and more towards the wall, as if she was in need of support of standing up.

It rang again.

A shiver ran through her body. She looked back and forth towards the empty, pale hallway and wondered why it was suddenly so chilly.

At the third rang, someone picked it up.

Out of all the things Ruby expected Blake to say, she never thought a commanding and worried-sounding " _Where is she?"_ would be one of them.

"U-um, what?" dumbfoundedly, she asked.

The woman on the other line growled, " _Blake! Isn't she with you?"_

Silver orbs widened in none other than shock.

"Wait, who is this?" All traces of nervousness had been wiped out from her mind, now that she knew who was answering Blake's phone wasn't Blake herself.

" _I'm her…"_ There was a pause. " _I'm her friend."_

One eyebrow was raised. _And I thought I was bad at lying._

"Really, now?" She put her free hand on her hip, even though this… potential thief couldn't see it.

" _Yes."_ If this woman was a snake, she'd be hissing right now. " _And that's not the point, I want to know where she is."_

Her eyebrow was re-raised. Ruby sensed she was missing an important piece of this confusing puzzle.

"Who are you talking about?"

" _Blake, of course!"_ The woman screamed, forcing her to pull the phone away from her ear and rubbed said ear with her other arm.

 _Dust, that woman has a powerful voice,_ Ruby noted as she cringed.

Even when Yang's phone was not on speaker, the brunette could still hear this person's voice, shouting something along the lines of 'brute' and 'blonde'.

Something clicked on her.

 _She must be thinking I'm Yang…_

Slowly, she put the calling device back on her ear, and carefully, and like taming a wild beast, she whispered slowly, "Okay, Miss, listen-"

But she could not finish her own sentence, seeing as how this person was shouting too loudly to be able to hear any word she was saying.

After a while, though, she had enough.

She went to the corner of the floor, near the emergency exit door where she knew nobody would be able to hear her, and shouted very roughly;

"Miss!"

The other end of the line was quiet. Good. This was her chance to explain.

"Miss, look, I don't know who you are, but I am _not_ Yang Xiao Long."

It was quiet for a moment. The mystery woman must be collecting her thoughts and thinking of the right question to ask, choosing the right words to say.

" _...Then, why are you using her phone?"_

"Why are you?" Ruby smiled when the woman didn't answer immediately.

There was a sigh, and a loud one at that. " _Fine, then, who are you?"_

Ruby's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

" _I told you, I'm her friend."_

Those silver eyes narrowed even more. "And why should I believe that?"

Some might say that Ruby was innocent and open-minded, and maybe they were true… but that didn't mean she was a fool.

" _Because… because I believe you when you say you're not Yang Xiao Long."_

Okay… perhaps she was a bit of a fool, which she blamed on her sister, mostly.

"I'm not!" Ruby said, desperately. "Look, I can prove it, I'll let you talk to the real Yang-"

" _Then do it."_ The voice calmly said.

… _Crap. She's good._

Nervous sweat appeared on her forehead. She bit her lip and let the few seconds slipped by in silence.

"Okay, look," she said, making sure to calm her voice down. "I can't let you talk to Yang because she doesn't know I'm using her phone which kinda sounds like I'm some kind of creep, but I'm not! I'm her sister! Ruby! Ruby Rose! And I need to talk to Blake."

Another few seconds was bathed in silence. For the mysterious woman, it must mean nothing. But for Ruby, waiting was agonizing.

"Hello? You still there?" she tried.

The annoyed sigh which came from the other line relieved her. " _It seems you are not a thief. No criminal in their right mind would use their victim's phone to call anyone, nor dumb enough to tell their name."_

"... So, you believe me?"

There was a huff. " _Yes, you dolt."_

Ignoring the odd choice of insult, she asked again, "And you're not a thief too?"

" _Should you really be asking that?"_ the woman said in a rather harsh tone, making her flinch.

"Okay, jeez, sorry," she backpedaled, "I'm just… trying to figure things out."

" _We both are,"_ the voice breathed.

Ruby suddenly froze. She became concern at the familiarity of the voice. She'd heard it somewhere before, but she didn't know where.

"Do I… know you from somewhere?" she asked, swallowing.

" _I think you do,"_ was the answer. Ruby noted how guarded this woman sounded.

"Umm… who are you?"

There was silence. The brunette knew that, just by hearing her voice, she was scared but didn't want her to know.

" _I'm a friend of Blake and that's all you need to know."_

Ruby didn't answer, not immediately, at least.

"Sorry if it was a little rude of me, I'm not really good at talking with people."

Honesty _was_ the best policy… except for when you forgot to do your homework, but that was besides the point!

" _Obviously, you are, seeing as how you revealed your identity to a stranger you're calling."_

"Well, sorry," she apologized without really thinking as to why. "I panicked!"

There was a sound that closely resembled to a mix between a groan and a sigh.

" _Just talking to you already gives me a migraine,"_ the woman complained.

Not wanting to let this meanie insult her just like that, Ruby blurted whatever came out of her mind.

"Y-yeah, well, you sound awesome! So your voice cured your own migraine!"

… _Did I just say that?_ she asked herself.

" _Did you just say that?"_ the woman from the other side asked as well " _... Nevermind, I'm just gonna pretend I didn't hear that."_

"Yeah, same here," she said numbly, too embarrassed to form proper thoughts.

She was so glad she didn't know this person _at all_ … and that Yang didn't hear that awful compliment/pick-up line.

" _Okay, first things first, I need to know why you want to talk to Blake."_

Ruby kept her mouth tightly shut at the moment, reviewing her situation.

 _On one hand, I can just lie and say that, umm… what should I say, exactly, if I were to lie? … Moving on, if I tell the truth, there's a chance this woman would help me._

 _Honesty is the best policy._

"I want to ask her if she could spend another one or two days here in Vale."

Even when she could hear nothing, Ruby could _sense_ the anger burning in this person.

… Maybe she could've phrased that better.

" _What."_

One word was enough to get her to let out a small, high-pitched "Eep!" and explain, "I m-mean, she seems to really like this place, right? And my sister too! I think it'd be bad for both of them to get separated just when they were getting to know each other, and-"

" _Stop."_

Ruby did as she was told, quite literally. She even almost stopped breathing entirely.

Every word this woman spoke was filled with such intensity, Ruby couldn't bring herself not to listen to it.

" _You want to ask Blake, someone who I assumed has never met you before, to 'stay here' even when she has to PERFORM on those 'few days' just so she can… 'get to know' Yang?"_

"... Well," Ruby cringed, not knowing what to even say after this woman had… 'truth-bombed' her. "When you put it like that, it sounds like I want to risk Blake's future."

" _You do."_ The brunette had a large suspicion that this woman was deadpanning, judging by her tone of voice.

"Then, umm…" She scratched her head, hoping it would help her brain in figuring out how she'd come up with a good excuse.

Then an idea popped into her head! It might even be worse than her previous ones, but it was better than nothing.

She raised her index finger. "Tell me where Blake is."

" _...Excuse me?"_ Yep, this person was definitely raising her eyebrow. Ruby could, somehow, feel it.

"All this time I've been asking about Blake," Ruby pointed out, "yet you never answered. Not even once." A sly smirk found its way into her mouth. "In fact, I think you don't know where she is."

She heard the woman growl in frustration - and possibly defeat - before letting out a huge sigh.

" _And why on Remnant would I do that?"_

Ruby dumbfoundedly blinked. "Umm… because I'm not a bad person?"

A familiar voice, scarily so, called out. "Rubes? What are you doing out here?"

She turned towards the source, and her fear was true, it was Yang.

 _Why didn't I hear her footsteps?_ She thought as she quickly hide her sister's phone behind her back. _Maybe she won't notice-_

"And were you just using my phone?" _Crap._

Silver eyes trailed to the side in nervousness as she said, "No…"

However, being the responsible big sister that she was, Yang was able to see through her lie.

Crossing her arms, and raising an eyebrow, Yang rhetorically asked, "Oh, really?"

Ruby could do nothing but nod, afraid that her voice might give herself away.

The blonde sighed and rubbed her temple. She extended her arm and looked at the younger girl frustratedly.

No words needed to be said.

Slowly, Ruby gave the device to its owner, who quickly found out what her sister had been doing with it.

"Wha-? Why are you calling Blake?! What did you tell her!?" The blonde said, starting to glow with anger.

But, before Yang could speak with not-Blake, Ruby held out her two arms. "W-wait, Yang, put it on speaker!"

Lilac orbs narrowed. "Why?"

After flinching, Ruby gave her sister a half-cheerful smile. "Please?" was all she could think to say.

The two sisters stared at each other in silence. Well, Ruby _could_ faintly hear the girl who claimed to be Blake's friend yelling questions, but it _was_ mostly silence.

"Fine." Yang groaned, but for Ruby, it was good enough!

She pressed the speaker button and held it in-between her and her sister.

… And immediately cringed from the extensively loud rambling that came from it.

" _-and I honestly cannot stand any of this! Do you have any idea how hard it used to be for me to get her to say anything?! Yet, now she-"_

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Yang said, waving her hand despite knowing this girl couldn't hear her. "Calm down… you."

Ruby could hear very clearly how she took a deep, calming breath. " _Alright… I assume you're Yang Xiao Long."_

Her big sister raised an eyebrow. "...Right, and you are…?"

" _Her friend,"_ was the short answer.

"Ha ha, and I'm Weiss Schnee," said Yang, dryly. "Now tell me who you are and what you're doing with Blake's phone?"

There was a long sigh. " _What is it with you people and not believing that I am her friend?"_

Ruby thought it would be best to pipe in, "It's got something to do with your voice."

Yang shot her a glare that sent all the devils crying.

"Ignore her." The blonde rubbed her chin as she began to think. "Fine," she said after a short period of silence. "I believe you."

" _Thank you,"_ the girl answered curtly.

"Now can you tell me what you two were talking about?" The blonde gave her sister another, more sinister glare, if it were even possible.

Ruby gulped.

 _Please don't tell her, please don't tell her, please don't-_

" _Only if you tell me where Blake is,"_ was the reply.

 _Yay! Thank you, Mysterious Lady!_

"Wait, what do you mean? You're using her phone right, she should be with you," argued Yang, her face growing less frustrated and more thoughtful; worried, even.

There was silence. It wasn't filled with thoughtfulness, nor comfort. In fact, it was the opposite.

A thought grew in Ruby's head, just a mere simple guess, really. But it was one she wished wasn't true.

It was also one she knew everyone must be thinking.

" _... Blake isn't with you?"_

Yang's face was somber, devoid of any emotion as the grim reality finally caved in.

"No." Ruby found herself taking a step back in great fear and shock. Meanwhile, her big sister was, unsurprisingly, handling the situation much better. "Tell me what happened. Now." It wasn't a plea. It was a command.

At first, what Ruby could hear from the other end of the line was an uncontrolled chain of breathing.

It was understandable, Ruby would too if she'd found out that, perhaps Jaune went missing.

The two siblings waited patiently until the woman finally spoke what they'd dreaded.

" _I- I was with her, we were supposed to be packing, but she chose to lay in her bed and play with her phone… then she… she left. Without any explanations."_

Ruby flinched at that tone. She nervously glanced at Yang, who was looking at her phone and listening ever so seriously with an unreadable expression on her face.

It was an understatement to say she was scared.

" _I asked her where she's going, and she didn't answer,"_ Blake's friend continued, " _I thought she was going to Sun and Neptune's room so I checked but she wasn't there so I thought maybe she went to the bookstore so I waited here while the boys went out and look. I was just about to call you but Ruby called first and-"_

"And then we talked." Ruby didn't remember saying those words. It simply… left her mouth.

Yang and Ruby looked up at each other. Silvery orbs were filled with intense emotion of panic, now that the truth had truly dawned on her.

None of them said anything, not after a long while. They didn't want to say it. They feared what they'd guessed. They feared what could be the truth.

"Blake's missing."

It was Yang who finally broke that silence of comfort.

* * *

" _Blake's missing."_

Her entire body went stiff.

It took all of her willpower to not sway nor falter on where she stood. Though, she did put a grip on the desk counter, weak as it may be.

"Oh Dust," she whispered. Over the phone she could hear the two girls in a panic themselves; the blonde brute was cursing huskily while the dolt was gasping and shouting words too fast for her to understand.

Her own phone buzz. Weiss turned it on to see that it was a message from Sun.

 _ **Shes not in any bookstore. She defs gotta be wth that Yang girl**_

If only that were true.

The situation was much more gruesome than she'd thought at first.

 _Where could she possibly be?_

Her mind began to conjure thoughts - ones that were unimaginably horrid - and she couldn't stop them.

" _Alright, um… You…"_

Unbeknownst to Yang, she had saved the heiress from the powerful thing that was the mind.

"Yes, me." She kept herself _sounding_ level-headed and calm, when in actuality she was _very_ close to having a seizure.

" _How long has she been gone?"_ Came the first question.

Weiss glanced at her device before answering swiftly, "Thirty to forty minutes."

The blonde mumbled something along the lines of 'time' and 'fast'. Then, she asked another question. " _Have you checked the park? Or… maybe a bookstore."_

"No, we checked," the heiress answered with more confidence. "I saw her when she left, she didn't bring a wallet so she couldn't've used a taxi or an uber; she must've walked..." That confidence, however, faltered at her last sentence.

" _Okay, and…?"_ The blonde pried. Weiss sighed before answering, only because she knew none of them would like it.

"She's not anywhere nearby."

" _Crap,"_ was the dolt's immediate reaction. Weiss silently agreed.

It wasn't after quite a while that Yang's voice emerged again, this time, with more soothingness and lightfulness. " _Okay, okay, good news is she hasn't been gone for that long, so you shouldn't worry that much, because I think I know where she is."_

If that didn't capture Weiss' attention, nothing would.

"You do?!" She wasn't even trying to hide emotion. Even if she did try, she was very certain she would fail. "Well then where?!"

" _Look, don't worry, I'll go get her, alright?"_

Weiss frowned, she didn't trust this blonde despite everything Blake had said about her… well, she never told the heiress much about Yang since she never even spoke much in the first place…

"But how can I trust you won't hurt her?"

" _Because if I wanted to hurt Blake I certainly would've done so in the first place,"_ the blonde offered reasonably. " _And if I am with her right now I certainly wouldn't allow anyone to call her, let alone my sister."_

… That was surprisingly thoughtful and logical. _Blake did say she studies law…_

She sighed. "Alright… I trust you."

" _Great choice, 'Blake's friend',"_ was the irritatingly snarky remark.

"But," she continued, ignoring that remark. "If Blake isn't in her hotel in an hour, or if there's no news about her, the police will be involved."

She expected the blonde to comment on how dangerous it was and how there wasn't any need to involve the fuzz. But, much to her surprise, the blonde simply hummed and reply, " _Good call. I'll call you when I find her."_

She had no idea what the proper response was. "O-okay," she ended up mumbling.

Weiss heard footsteps. And then: " _I'll go get my jacket and key, be back in a sec."_

" _Okay,"_ came the response from the girl who called herself Ruby.

More footsteps, growing more and more distant with each steps, until it finally disappeared.

Ruby coughed deliberately.

Weiss already loathed what was to come.

" _So… since you're friends with Blake… does that mean you're friends with Weiss Schnee too?"_

Weiss froze again, this time, not out of dismay, but rather… interest.

Yes. Interest. Nothing more.

" _Umm… Miss?"_

She blinked, realizing she hadn't give the dolt an answer.

"No," she said, "I'm not." After all, how could anyone be friends with themselves?

" _Oh, okay."_ Perhaps her ears were deceiving her, because she swore she heard a tone resonating sadness and disappointment.

 _It's all in your head_ was what she told herself.

" _So…"_ The annoying voice drawled again. Weiss was already pinching the bridge of her nose, and this dolt hadn't even said anything yet! " _How close are you with Blake?"_

"Very." She deadpanned.

" _...Riiight."_ Weiss really hated how unconvinced this person was.

"Look, we've been friends from before she was even popular, alright!?" she snapped.

" _Oh, um, that's good, I guess."_ Weiss sighed deeply. " _So… close enough for you to have already meet Weiss? Maybe?"_

Perhaps what was most infuriating was how this Ruby girl only wanted to know more about just her, and not the band entirely, like most people.

As much as she wanted to yell at the girl again, she was also curious of why this person wanted to know more about, well… her. The heiress decided to use a calmer approach.

"What if I have?" she inquired.

" _Then that would be amazing!"_ Well, Weiss was… she really wasn't expecting that answer. " _Does she look different than the photos? Oh-! Is she nice to people? What about her height?"_

The girl kept rambling on and on about the singer, and Weiss found it was hard to keep up with her words. At last, the brunette stopped talking, expecting an answer.

Weiss blinked a few times before answering.

"Well, she looks a little different than in the photos," the heiress started, her finger consciously ran up to touch her scar. It felt a little weird to be speaking about herself in third person.

" _But I'm sure she's still pretty tho!"_ the voice blissfully said in response, ignorant of the effects her words had on the musician; wide eyes and red cheeks. The girl suddenly gasped. " _Please don't tell her I said that!"_

… Oh, the irony.

"Right, well." Weiss looked back at her own phone, filled with new messages she had yet to read from Sun and Neptune, before continuing, "I have to go now."

" _O-oh, okay!"_ the girl agreed. " _Me too, actually! I need to practise for this show I have-"_

"Really? What show?" the heiress found herself asking.

" _Well, it's not a big show actually,"_ the girl comfortably said. " _I'm just gonna play some songs in a cafe. I was supposed to do it tomorrow, but Jaune said the guy who's playing today is sick so I'm probably gonna do it today."_

"Where will you play?" The heiress looked down, hoping she'd get a clear answer from the girl.

" _Oh! At Adel's restaurant!"_ the girl supplied easily. " _It's not really popular, so you should ask someone for directions."_

"Huh, maybe I'll be there." Weiss shrugged.

The girl barked a laugh. " _Yeah, maybe…"_ There was another fake cough. " _Well, I'll see you soon, Miss…?"_

Weiss couldn't take not giving this girl any name.

… Perhaps she should tell the girl who she was.

She smiled ah so devilishly before giving her answer, but not before waiting for a long time, just for the dramatic effect.

* * *

Ruby Rose's smile began to fade away when, after seconds had passed, received no answer.

Maybe her hopes were too high.

 _But it's just a simple name, right? It's not like I can hurt her using JUST her name…_

The woman she'd talked to proved to be much more fun than she'd initially thought.

The mystery woman was still a bit rude - and a little scary - but she was also… unique, in a way.

Ruby couldn't place her finger on it, but there was just _something_ special about her…

It was as if this girl were… royalty.

 _Maybe she's a princess?... No, that can't be right, princesses don't exist anymore. The closest thing we have to a princess is… wait, what's it called-_

" _Weiss,"_ the voice rang. It didn't interrupt her train of thoughts.

 _Ah! An heiress! That's what it's called! Kinda like how Weiss Schnee is the heiress to the SDC!_

" _My name is Weiss Schnee."_

 _See! Exactly like-_

 _Wait. Wait. Wait._

 _Hold on…_

 _I just…_

 _WHAT?!_

Ruby repeated that last thought in a scream. She received no answer. Soon, she found out it was because the line had been disconnected.

 _No. No. Nope. That cannot be. That just CANNOT be!_

Yet why did she quickly figure out why this 'random person' was using Blake's phone in the first place, and why, many times, she told everyone she was Blake's friend.

… Her voice. Ruby figured out why it sounded so damn similar!

She was hit with what felt like a tsunami of realisation.

 _Oh Dust…_

… _Should I scream or should I cry?_ she dully asked herself.

* * *

 **Author's Notes : O-hokay, turns out this chapter took longer than anticipated. The reason was because the original concept was for this to all be from Weiss' POV, meaning we see her getting confused and worried when Blake left and you'll all get your hearts broken again when I plan to have her have a breakdown, similar to Yang but much more hurtful…**

 **You guys are lucky I didn't include that.**

… **Hooray! We got our first real interaction between Ruby and Weiss! Finally, the White Rose shippers are happy! Including me! What do you guys think of it? GAH! I'm scared I'll disappoint you all! Crap, what if I overdid it? What if it was flat and forced!?**

… **Eh, I tried.**

 **I can't say a lot due to spoilers, but let's just say that the next chapter will be pretty juicy! Well, not "M-Rated Juicy" but still pretty juicy… I think… hopefully. It'll focus entirely on Blake and Yang.**

 **Buut, I've got some bad news for you all. Well, it's not actually bad or anything, but it could be considered bad news for you all who's dying for the next chapter… I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, but it could take me awhile before I could post my new chapter.**

 **Just to clear this up, I am NOT going to be on hiatus and I will not abandon this story. I am just warning you guys that, since exam week is coming up, I'll focus on my studies more, therefore less time on the internet.**

 **Sorry, but I take my studies as seriously as Ruby is with her cookies!**

 **Overall, I'm pretty proud of this chapter. I certainly hope there was no forced dialogue or dry humour, especially since it's more dialogue-heavy.**

 **Don't forget to give me your thoughts! I really love reading them! It's interesting to know what you guys think of this chapter. And don't be afraid to be truthful! I won't get offended or anything… just make sure you're actually being constructive and reasonable when you want to critic my story and not just say that it's bad… please?**

… **Hmm… well, I've got nothing else to say other than I hope you have a nice day today and goodbye, so I'm just gonna say that!**

 **So, um… I hope you have a nice day… bye…**

 **(Jesus fuck I am horrible at author-noting)**

* * *

 **0: Heey, thanks! My main goal in writing is to be able to make the readers believe that the characters are real due to their realism in personality and thoughts.**

 **RyuNoMe24: … Dude, thank you! Thank you so much! I've been looking for ways to improve my writing and your review got me just that! And, no, I am not at all offended! Instead, I'm glad! There was always something off about my story, and I couldn't put my finger on it until now! Just… wow, you really took your time writing that review. And I want to thank you for that! Sorry I couldn't write anything longer than this, but just know that I am glad you write that review and I'll do my best to improve on my writing!**

 **THATANIMOKID: Ehehe, I'm glad you liked it~ I try to put myself in her shoes when writing that. So it mostly came from the heart :)**

 **Complicated Kurumi: Yay! Glad I broke your heart :D But seriously, I'm glad you think my writing is good. And yeah, I agree with you. Everything feels more natural and realistic with my new way of writing. Which is way I'm gonna continue writing this way!**

 **mrmanguy47: Hmm… Well, from a website I read (forgot what it's called), her name means "Sunny Dragon". But, likewise, I could be wrong too.**

 **Gryffindor620: Thank you! Glad you liked it!**

 **M: The team is mostly together!... sort of.**

 **meeyaaargh3412: Yup~ Yang can't always be the strong one. Plus, Ruby's growing up! And thank you :)**

 **Z: Ehehe, did you like the interaction? :3 also, don't worry! The next chapter will heal your frail heart~**

 **Mattricole: Oh, c'mon, Ruby's a dolt but her ideas aren't that bad, right?... oh, wait.**

 **The White Wolf of Remnant: First of all, I gotta say, I love your username. Secondly, I'm glad you think so! And you're right! Just going with the flow can be better than planning things out! Well, I still plan things out in general, but I don't plan out all the dialogues and words.**

 **Aelar (Chapter 1): Wow, that actually was depressing. "Blake greeted her"... hmm… people would sometimes misinterpret "Black" as "Blake"... I could actually use that 0_0**


	11. Talks and A Promise

Amber orbs gazed upwards onto the sky that lacked the sun. She held her gaze towards the seemingly endless black dotted with infinite stars and one shattered moon.

She didn't count the stars, she'd never does. She only looked at them one by one, admiring what made them all individually special.

There was always something special about them.

Blake had always loved seeing them, especially when she was like this. When her mind was clouded over in a dark mist of thoughts that were less than pleasant.

Gazing at the stars had always helped her.

It helped her now, even if only a little.

Letting out a sigh that was neither of sadness nor relief, the noirette leaned forward, putting most of her weigh onto the old railing.

It was unfortunate she didn't bring a book. She didn't have time to think about that, not when-

There were footsteps.

Two cat ears instinctively and fearfully perked up, directing themselves towards the source of those sounds.

Many questions, doubts, and dark thoughts plagued her.

She quickly drew herself away from the railing. Her entire body tense for a good reason.

But after a few seconds of intent listening, the feline girl stumbled into a realization far from unpleasant. It had something to do with who those footsteps belonged to.

She returned to her previous position, sensing no harm.

Her arms were crossed. Her body was leaned forward. And her right leg was bent. It was the perfect pose to struck when you were on a balcony. Even if it was an old balcony, even if she was alone (until now, that was) and even if no one would take pictures of her…

At least she hoped so.

The thudding sounds of those footsteps were now louder. But, judging by the volume of it, it sounded like the person was still quite far away.

'Person'?... no. That wasn't just any person, not to her.

That was Yang Xiao Long.

And who was that?

A fan. A friend. And a crush.

How did Blake know it was her and not anybody else?

From her footsteps, of course.

Everyone has a distinct way of walking, directly relating to the sound of their footsteps.

Weiss' and Glynda's were an evenly sound and timed rythmic beat, and they also almost always wore high-heels also mattered.

Sun's and Neptune's were slower, more lax, like they had all the time in the world, which was, unsurprisingly, not that unfamiliar with their actual personality. In fact, it perfectly described them in every way.

And Yangs… Blake had grown accustomed to her style of walking after doing it alongside her. And during these past few days, the faunus had been walking with her extremely often.

The noirette couldn't quite pinpoint exactly what it was that made her footsteps special, but it just was.

Blake prayed that maybe Yang wasn't here to see her. Maybe she was just here to come and grab something - anything - and left.

Hell, maybe she was here to take pictures.

… Blake knew it was an idiotic hopeless prayer.

There was a thud.

The girl's eyes widened ever so slightly, and she flinched at that sound because of its unexpectedness.

"Damn it," a very familiar, and very furious voice hissed. "Turns out you really can trip over a wall."

Blake relaxed slightly, knowing the blonde was alright. She even let out a small giggle, partly wishing to be there to see Yang 'tripping over a wall'.

But that smile withered. In fact, her whole mood did, the moment her footsteps stopped.

Yang saw her. And she was many steps away.

Blake knew this, but still, her eyes continued to peer up at the black sky.

There was a shift between the blonde's boots and the dusty concrete before she began walking again, only stopping again when she was much closer, but still a few feet away.

Resolutely, Blake turned around to face the taller girl, wearing a face of no emotions.

Yang Xiao Long was there, surely.

She was dressed in a black tank-top covered by a brown leather jacket, followed by black jeans as well as a pair of black boots.

Overall, the choice of clothing alone looked casual. But… when Yang wore that outfit… it might as well be an outfit worth thousands of liens.

Amber eyes slowly narrowed as she mentally slapped herself. She wasn't here to check out Yang - as much as she would've loved that - and Yang certainly wasn't here to stare at her.

As much as Blake certainly appreciated the thought of Yang coming all this way at this hour just to find her, the noirette wanted to be left alone.

And Yang, she… seemed nervous. Much like how they'd first meet each other, which was odd since the awkward tension between them had mostly been whisked away.

The blonde was gently biting down her lip which Blake noted - with worry - had small cuts on them. One sleeved hand was holding a key, which Blake assumed must be one for whatever transportation she decided to ride here, while the other was fidgeting with the hem of the leather jacket she wore.

Pools of lilac widened upon finally realizing that she owed the faunus an explanation.

"Um, hiya, Blake!" She released her jacket only to timidly wave at her.

Blake gave her a half-hearted smile in response.

She really didn't have the energy to be polite and mannered. Not tonight.

She wished Yang would just do whatever it was she planned to do and simply leave her be.

But, unsurprisingly, that was not the case.

Or rather, what Yang planned to do involved having to talk with her.

While rubbing her neck, the blonde muttered loud enough for her to hear, "You know, your bratty friend's worried about you."

At the word 'bratty', amber eyes shimmered with great familiarity.

"Weiss," she whispered ever so faintly. Yang walked towards her again, this time, more confident and much more intent of getting closer to her. With a raised eyebrow, Blake asked the question that had been bugging her ever since she knew of the girl's arrival, "How did you know I was here?"

Yang positioned herself similar to her, only, it wasn't the stars she was gazing at.

With a non-committed shrug, she asked more than said, "Lucky guess?"

Blake gave her a hard look. Hard enough for the taller girl to break from her nonchalant act.

"When we were talking about this place," she began, looking around at the pillars resting in-between them and the view below. "This… 'concert-building-place'." Her air-quoting was followed by a fond chuckle. "I noticed how much you really like talking about this place… so, when I heard that you just up and go and that you weren't in any place they thought you'd be in, I wondered if this was where you are."

Blake blinked at her, not sure if her own face perfectly showed how shocked she was by the girl's words.

Yet once again, Yang had proven the world that she was not who she appeared to be. Far from it.

"You know," the blonde suddenly said, her voice solemn and low, "you could've told them where you were." Her head tilted to look at Blake again. "The girl I talked to - the one using your phone - she… blames me for what you did." Yang gave her a cringy grin.

Blake cringed along with her.

With a sheepish smile, the noirette said, "Sorry, Weiss can be like that sometimes, especially when she's worried," Blake shook her head, "but it doesn't mean she doesn't like you or anything like that."

Yang blinked. With a nervous frown, she asked, her voice rising in pitch, "Wait, Weiss, as in, Weiss Schnee?"

"Yes…?" Blake raised an eyebrow, wondering why the blonde paled at her answer, and why that seemed to be important.

Yang slapped her forehead with her hand, the other on her hips. Leaning away, she muttered a curse, sounding very regrettable.

Orbs of amber blinked twice before she pieced the two and two together.

Blake laughed. She didn't even need to know what happened, she could already picture what happened; how Weiss and Yang made an enemy out of each other through one phone call.

Yang smiled alongside her.

But as time went on, that smile was nowhere to be seen. Instead, her face spoke none of her usual cheerfulness nor lightheartedness.

Her eyebrows were flatted. Her jaw was clenched. Her lips were pressed together, curling downwards ever so slightly. There a kind of deep, rooted presence of wisdom in those shaded lilacs. It was a wisdom that came from experience.

Blake knew whatever Yang would say next, it wouldn't be something meant to be said so casually or as a joke.

"Why did you run like that?"

The noirette drew in a shaky breath.

She knew the blonde would ask that sooner or later. She should've expected it sooner rather than later, judging by what kind of person Yang was.

Blake was all set to explain, but her explanations died in her throat when the next question was asked.

"Was it because of me?"

Blake's jaw unclenched.

"What? No!" She shook her head furiously. She didn't know what was worse, the question itself or how sadly Yang had said asked it. "Yang." She looked up at the now equally confused blonde. "Why would you say something like that?!"

Looking very taken aback at the answer she certainly was not hoping for, Yang stuttered before saying, "I don't know, maybe it's because there's no other reason I could think of?" The faunus looked at her, baffled. Seeing this, the blonde, wanting to lighten the mood, joked, "Other than there's a really good sale on some books?"

Blake flashed her a forced smile. She looked down moments after, frowning sadly.

"No, it's… it's not that…" she mumbled, one hand subconsciously trailing onto her stomach. She realized what she'd done shortly after, and pulled back. Fortunately, the blonde didn't notice her seemingly unimportant gesture.

And even if she did, Blake doubted she'd have a single clue as to why.

"Then… what is it?" Realising she'd been getting lost in thought, Blake deeply breathed.

She leaned over the railing again, contemplating on whether or not she should actually explain it to Yang.

It was something she rarely talked about with people.

Only a few know of this story.

And she'd like to keep it that way.

But, Yang wasn't just any person, was she?

After amber found its way into lilac, Blake had her answer.

"... What do you know about Adam Taurus?"

* * *

What did Yang know about Adam Taurus?

Only three things: What she'd read in the printed newspapers and other articles, what she'd watched on the news, and what she'd heard from others.

Overall, what she knew about him was what any average person would know.

"The… lead singer of The White Fang," she started.

The White Fang.

The first band to ever openly had a faunus as, not just any member, but the most important role of all; lead singer.

Of course, even before they publically performed, everyone was already talking about them. Faunus, of course, were all very excited because, to them, it was a very important news.

Everyone knew about those. And he was what made them popular, so everyone knew about him.

He was the star of the band, the main reason why people loved their music, whether or not they'd admit it.

And he was the first ever faunus to openly admit to the public that he was, in fact, a faunus and he still wanted to sing.

It was no wonder people admired and supported him…

Yang studied Blake's gaze upon her, afraid that her choice of words might've been discriminating especially since the girl herself was a faunus. She found that the girl's face didn't seem to be withholding any negative emotions. Then again, it didn't seem to hold any emotions at all.

The blonde cleared her throat before continuing.

"I heard from many people that he used to be very passionate about what he stood for, equality for Faunus, that is, but…"

He turned aggressive as time went on.

Fame caused many people to change, Adam was the prime example for that. Maybe it wasn't just fame that changed him, but he did change the more his band became famous; the more he became famous.

Fame consumed him with arrogance and rage. It took him away from what he once stood for.

"There were rumors…"

He didn't just turn into what he was perceived as now in a flash. No, not like that.

The change was slow.

At first, Adam merely yelled at people. He'd claimed it was humans who thought and treated faunus as lesser than humans. Upon further inspection, many others could confirm what he'd said to be true, and how those people deserved to be yelled at.

Most people understood his reasoning. The faunus didn't want to be discriminated anymore.

They were done with being pushed around by humans all they want.

So his fans - humans and faunus - didn't think much of it, guessing that he was like that only because of the humans.

… If only that were true.

Then… he started fighting humans. In a bar, or out on the streets, or even in one of his own shows. What's more worrying was how he didn't care who he was fighting, so long as they were humans.

It mattered less and less of what these particular humans did to him, it only mattered that they were humans in general, so they were, in his eyes, in the wrong.

Humans started to fear his actions more and more.

But faunus… they were inspired by it.

Adam's actions - his actions of sprouting how much he was sick and tired of being treated like animals and how all faunus should stand up for themselves for once - caused many of his kind to riot.

There were lots of humans who suffered. Mostly only verbally, but a few psychically.

And that… that wasn't even the worst part.

The part where everything truly changed, the part where everyone - even faunus - saw him for who he truly was and was mortified of him was when…

When he was found beating his own band member and stabbing the other, putting both of them in a hospital.

Yang had seen the pictures…

"Do you know we were in the same band?"

Yang froze as if the blood in her veins stopped circulating. She numbed, barely able to feel her rapidly beating heart.

No. That… that was impossible, right?

Why would… Why would Blake even tell her this?

What was she trying to suggest? That she…

No.

Please. Anything but that.

Yang re-looked at the noirette in front of her; the girl who, despite what she'd just insinuated, still managed to have some control over herself, to look calm as ever, as if she were explaining everyday things.

Suddenly, Blake smiled understandingly.

It was… sickening to see. But, at the same time, Yang marveled how beautiful it was. She was in a whirlwind of emotions, and she wanted to get out of it. She wanted to clear her head. But she wasn't able to do so without knowing anything.

So she listened intently.

"No, I guess not," Blake continued. She looked back up at the sky. Yang's gaze lingered on her before she averted it onto the same darkness as well, but for entirely different reasons. "Back then, Adam was the only one that matter. It's still him that matters, even until now. Plus… No one knew I was a faunus."

Yang stole a glance towards the faunus.

She... couldn't quite place what the girl was feeling; what the right word would be to describe the noirette's look.

Neutral would be what anyone would say at first glance. But, if one looked closer, they would see how tense she was through how stiff her shoulders were and how she knuckled both of her fists.

Yang swallowed; whatever it was that Blake wanted to tell her, it wasn't going to be something she should ever take for granted.

"Two years ago… still can't believe it's already that long." There was a sad chuckle. Yang noticed how that sentence made her frown deeper but didn't comment on it with how quickly disappeared. "Back before I truly know Weiss and the others. We were… doing just fine, despite Adam's… aggression towards many people… in fact, we all kind of… liked it. Me, especially."

There was a pause. Yang knew it was rude to interrupt, and very wrong to assume such a thing, but she spoke out, "You were one of them, weren't you?"

The noirette's hand, much to her disturbed horror, landed on the left side of her stomach.

That alone had already answered enough for Yang.

Yang had seen it earlier tonight, and even a few times during their lunch, but didn't think much of it, guessing it was merely a habit.

It ached her chest to know how far she was from the truth.

She didn't need to hear any more words. She didn't want to. And she absolutely didn't want Blake to relive any of those gruesome memories.

Yang already felt sick from the realization, she couldn't begin to imagine what Blake must be feeling.

"Adam's songs became less about equality and more about… spite. His anger infected everyone, even me. But one day… he wrote a song about killing humans. And it was… terrifying to listen to. I think that's what snapped us out, what made all of us realize the Adam we knew was no longer."

Blake was now visibly shaking. Her breath came out labored and her eyes were wide with sheer terror.

Yang needed to stop this.

She put a hand on top of the girl's own.

A silent plea for her to stop.

A plea which Blake couldn't hear nor understand.

"I…" A shaky breath. "I still remember it…" Yang looked down and found the hand that previously was only brushing against her stomach - where her injury lay - was now gripping it tightly.

Blake was going to hurt herself.

She already was hurting herself.

"Stop."

Yang's voice was firm as she pried away from the hand that clutched the injury. It pulled Blake away from those - no doubt - horrible memories. She blinked a few times before looking up at her, amber eyes refocusing and readjusting to where she currently was. And that was good.

"Don't force yourself," was all she said.

Pools of amber looked at her quizzically. But, seconds later, they widened slightly with newfound understanding.

"Thank you... "

Yang managed a smile for her. It was half-hearted at best, but she hoped it would put some semblance of ease for the noirette.

"I'm sure, after that, you know how we all quit from the band and how quickly Adam was thrown into jail…"

Yang nodded, so far, everything seemed to be heading in the right direction… until Blake's next words:

"But now he's back."

Blake took a step back, suddenly shying away from the world, and worst of all, shying away from Yang herself. The faunus hugged herself tightly and took another step back, head and ears dropping down in an intense emotion Yang didn't want her to feel.

Yang wanted so badly to just… come to her and hug her, telling her everything would be alright.

But she was afraid that it would scare her away.

"What do you mean?" she, instead, wondered.

"Adam is out of jail," was the weak murmur. "And he's making a new White Fang, with new members, he's still…"

Blake's posture made her appear so... vulnerable.

Then it all clicked for Yang.

"That's why you ran away."

A small, weak nod.

"The thought of it, it just… I can't handle it."

Yang had to struggle to listen to her soft words, but the message was clear: Blake simply was afraid.

Yang took a step forward, tentatively.

"... You shouldn't be scared, you know."

Slowly, but surely, Blake's head tilted upwards, their eyes meeting each other. Ambers was filled with sadness and curiosity, while lilacs were of assuredness and warmth.

At the phrasing of her word, Yang flinched and corrected her own words, "Well, yeah, you should kinda be, but…" She took a deep breath. "You don't need to stress about it, not like this." She gestured towards the faunus, who looked away in a small hint of embarrassment in response.

Yang cleared her throat; this was not what she wanted to say.

"Adam just got out of jail," she stated clearly. "And he probably doesn't want to risk going in again." Yang waited until Blake looked at her again before saying, "He won't try to hurt you. And even if he is, I… Your friends won't let him."

It must've struck a chord within Blake because calmly, Blake's arms uncurled, and she took a deep steady breath. Managing a smile which made Yang's heart flutter, the faunus said sweetly, "Thank you, Yang, I needed that."

Yang's heart and mind were too much in shock to form a proper response. So she only did a gesture which she hoped looked like a nod.

She couldn't take this anymore.

She simply couldn't.

Yang needed to tell Blake about her feelings, if not… she wouldn't be able to live with herself.

But she couldn't simply say it, not with the tension in the air that was still heavy due to their previous topic.

So Yang waited.

She looked down, finding the stars to be too many to count, and instead interest herself with the vehicles that passed by on the roads below them.

Afterward, she settled to enjoying the cool night air. She rarely ever took the time to appreciate it, but now she did. It wasn't as windy as the breeze of the day, but there was a certain darkness to it that made things… calmer.

Yang didn't know how much time had passed.

But she did know this was the right time to confess.

If she didn't do it now, she would never do so in any other time.

It was now or never, quite literally.

"So, um…" Yang rubbed her neck and looked away. "Since we're on the topic of confessing and stuff," her eyes found Blake's, "can I confess something?"

Blake blinked at her. One ear flattened. Her head tilted itself to the side.

Yang, of course, took that as a yes.

"I, umm…"

Man, why was the air suddenly so hot?

She blamed that instead of the more obvious and honest reason for her sweating forehead and clammy hands.

"I sort of…"

Maybe this is all a dream.

That would certainly explain why she was so sure of herself when she was about to confess.

"... Have a crush on you, like an actual crush on you for at least six months."

There. That was it.

… As much as she would've loved it, Yang knew this was far from a dream.

But, she was glad. Very glad.

Blake was currently looking at her with an expression Yang wouldn't dare hope was even remotely true: relief.

"Wow, Yang, I…"

The noirette seemed to be struggling to find the right words. It made Yang chuckle brightly; how unsure Blake seemed to be in terms of answering her, when in fact, she didn't really want any answer.

She just wanted to say those things, that was all.

"I was planning to tell you tomorrow, actually." Yang sighed, her smile faltering, but not entirely gone. "Didn't think you'd leave so soon yet." She looked back at Blake, who was still wide-eyed. "So, um… that's that… just wanted to get this off my chest."

"Yang, I-"

"I'm not saying we should hook up or anything," Yang cut her off immediately, raising a hand with a grin, trying to hide the strong embarrassment she actually felt, "I know we literally just met and I don't expect you to just-"

"Yang."

Blake's voice was firm. Yang swallowed before asking a simple "Yeah, Blake?"

"Can you please let me talk?"

The blonde blinked.

"... Okay, yeah, that sounds fair."

After all, she'd literally just confessed to the girl about her feelings for her without even letting that girl spoke out her thoughts of any of it.

That… hardly seemed fair at all.

Blake looked nervous, but not the kind of nervousness she'd displayed before. This one was less… darker than before.

Yang could only guess as to why.

"... This tour won't last forever, you know," was Blake's first words.

Yang blinked at that, surprised that out of all the things she'd said, that would be it. It certainly was far from what the blonde had expected. "In fact, after it's over, there'll be another tour…"

There was a pause.

"It'll take place in Vale, and only in Vale."

Yang's breath hitched.

Blake's amber eyes were sparkling with shyness, embarrassment, but those all were fluttered away, replaced by a great sense of determination Yang had only seen once from the girl.

At their first meeting. When Blake told her they would meet each other again.

Her look currently was far more intense, but to Yang, it was no different from that day.

The world quieted down.

It seemed to be disappearing as well. At least in her eyes.

"Yang…"

The blonde in mention shouldn't hope, she shouldn't bring herself to, but… those eyes - or, moreover, how they looked at her - were all too familiar…

Blake's gaze at her.

It reminded her of a gaze a certain someone used to have.

Her gaze. Back when she first found out about Blake. When her feelings only started to develop.

It was all too familiar.

"I… may have a crush on you too…"

A crush?

… No. What Yang felt for Blake was far from just a simple crush. Blake might've not realized that. But… that was okay, in fact, it was for the better.

And it didn't entirely matter. Not here. Not now.

What mattered was what Blake was insinuating… what she was hinting at…

"... Is this… are you…?"

Yang needed her to make it clear. She needed everything to be clear.

The girl nodded. Slowly, the distance between them shortened. Maybe Yang was the one who leaned in. Maybe it was Blake.

"If you want us to," was the whisper from the noirette. Their lips were inches apart. With this distance - or rather, the lack of it - Yang could feel the girl's breath. It was warm and cool at the same time. And it smelled of a mint… a flavor which she knew was at the back of her head. But she couldn't quite place what it was…

Blake's eyes. They were rooming upon her, silently waiting for permission.

Did she want this?

… It was instinctual for her to quickly answer, "Of course, yeah, I- I mean, are-"

A finger on her lips. A deadpan expression from Blake. Redness in both of their cheeks.

"Yang, I'm trying to kiss you, so please, shut up."

A gulp. "R-right."

And with that, she closed her eyes, fully enjoying the taste of the girl's lips on her own.

It was soft, gentle, warm.

The rest of her senses dulled down. She couldn't hear anything, not the vehicles passing by, not the rustling of trees and bushes; they were all forgotten.

In fact, everything was.

Her problems. Blake's problems. How this won't last forever. How this felt like it would last forever.

… Yang finally realized what that minty smell was, and internally smiled…

Blackberries. Huh.

They pulled away, a little out of breath, but mostly giddy, Yang more than Blake.

Blake sighed, trying to compose herself.

"That is a promise," she said. "If, in the future, our feelings for each other stayed or... blossomed," she looked away with a blush, "maybe we can have this."

Yang stared at her, dumbfounded. Seeing this, Blake sighed less fondly.

"I can't date you, not while I only know you for this amount of time. Let me learn more about you. Let us learn about each other. I don't want to rush this."

Yang's eyes narrowed. It was her turn to look away.

"Me neither."

"Which is why we'll wait." A hand was placed on her shoulder. Yang looked only to find Blake staring at her with a gentle and pure gaze. "Six months."

Wow. So long.

Would she even have the same feelings for Blake? Moreso, would Blake still have the same feelings for her?

Lilac refocused onto amber. Calm, sure, and warming amber.

"Yeah…" she found herself saying while nodding. "Yeah, six months. I can do that."

Blake smiled almost challengingly.

"Six months."

Yang gave her a cocky grin.

"Deal."

After all, she'd been crushing on the girl for six months. She could handle another one.

And she was also sure that she wasn't the only one who wanted more of that kiss-

Her phone rang.

Yang, after groaning widely (which caused Blake to chuckle) picked it up from her pocket. Realising it was a message, she, with narrowed eyes, read it.

An excited grin formed seconds afterward.

"Oh, this is just perfect."

"What?" Blake curiously asked, sensing the sudden change in her mood.

"Turns out, Ruby's going to perform tonight, in like, twenty minutes!" Yang waved with a smile. "It's something about the original guy being sick or something," she looked at Blake excitedly. "You should come with me!"

Yang thought she couldn't be happier after what had transpired tonight.

But, after seeing the way Blake chuckling and saying unenthusiastically, "Alright…"

… She realized how wrong she was.

* * *

 **Author's Notes : An alternative title for this chapter would be "Blackberry" ... *winks with both eyes***

 **Also, I learn a new word. Noirette... it means black hair. I like the sound of it. Think I might replace it with the plan old "black-haired" this and that.**

 **Alright, I hope you don't mind the very late update. I have this band thing going on and it proved to be far more… serious than I thought, even though it was worth it (apparently it was rare to see a 14 years old girl playing a guitar left-handedly)**

 **And after that was all over… exams week. Like, very serious exams week.**

 **Like, "holy shit" serious.**

 **It might take another month from me before I can upload another chapter. Sorry, but it's not just any exams. It's gonna be the exam which determines whether or not I pass middle school.**

 **So, yeah… that serious.**

 **Also, I feel like I need to explain a few things about this chapter.**

 **Some of you might be a little upset that Bumblebee didn't turn entirely official. But, think about it: Is it really realistic for Blake and Yang to suddenly become a thing after they only meet like, 4 days?**

 **This is the most realistic outcome.**

 **Blake does have feelings for Yang, but they're still not that great. Blake doesn't know much about her, unlike Yang.**

 **Even though this might disappoint some of you (I hope you can forgive me), this is the wisest decision, at least in my eyes.**

 **They're not 100% cannon yet, but they will be… in the future.**

 **Don't worry, it won't take that long.**

 **Blake still has her tour. And Yang, her college.**

 **None of them is going to sacrifice anything for the other. If you think this story will end that way, you're wrong, because in my opinion, a relationship doesn't always have to include sacrificing something as vital as your future, in fact, it is the opposite.**

 ***Ahem* sorry, I got a little carried away there, but still.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter. I certainly have mixed feelings while writing it.**

 **As always, I hope you have a good day or night (depending on your timezone) and I wish you all the best! In, like, everything.**

 **Reviews are always welcomed and appreciated! Byee~!**

* * *

 **Karvost : Exactly! I'm glad you noticed the reference! Haha, it's fine, just reading your "professional-sounding" review already makes me happy :) Oooh, so 0 was you! Cool!**

 **Lokfun1995 : So, hey, um, it's been almost a month… how are you doing in that lamp, buddy? You doing good? Xp**

 **FoxyFoxation : Wow, so even an adult likes my story! Hehehe, I feel so confident now! But anyways, welcome aboard to my… well, whatever this is, hehe… I hope you enjoy it here! In this… thing that's supposed to be a story.**

 **RyuNoMe24 : Hmm… I'll put that in mind, honestly, the "thou" part was unintentional. I simply forgot to put the "gh" in it because when I was thinking about the dialogue in my head, it sounded like "thou" so I write "thou". But I'll keep that in mind as well as the "couldn't've" thing. Thanks for the advice! And I'm glad you think that chapter's great!**

 **THATANIMOKID : Yep, one of the best things about writing these kinds of fanfictions is the first meeting between the two characters. The more the meeting goes down-hill (in a good way), the more it's fun for me to write their growing feelings and for the readers to watch it.**

 **Rapter267 : Took your advice and, wow, did not know I made this many mistakes regularly. Thank god for grammarly.**

 **meeyaaargh3412 : So… now that Blake has been found, what do you think of it?**

 **Mattricole : Fun fact, Ruby's meeting with Weiss is kind of inspired by a real life experience… in which, I am the Ruby… So yeah… Just putting that up there… Hehe… He… T_T**


	12. A Flower in Snow

Nervous pools of silver peeked from the red curtain, seeing as the crowd of people sitting comfortably on their chairs in front of the food-filled desk chat or ate.

With shaky hands, she closed the curtain and turned around, hoping she could lean on something as she pressed her palm onto her forehead, heaving a large sigh.

"Crap," Ruby whispered, swallowing a lump in her throat.

She saw as Jaune - who wore his usual work outfit which made him look far more professional than he actually was - came to her, most likely to check up on her.

But just as he opened her mouth, she whimpered to him, "Why are there so many people?"

A blonde eyebrow rose.

"Because tonight's a Saturday night." He then looked through the curtains, scanning the crowd, curious as to why his friend was acting the way she was. "And there aren't _that_ many people," he added.

She wasn't sure if he'd spoken that to comfort her or if he was actually honest with his statement, but his comment surely made her gawk openly at him. Not that he'd noticed, of course.

"There are like, dozens of people!" she defended, her cheeks crimsoning. She may be exaggerating, but there were at least _twelve_ people out there, which was exactly one dozen.

"Hmm… Nope. I counted. There are eleven people." He turned to her and made a face. "Less than a dozen."

" _Almost_ a dozen," she stressed a little too strongly, which got him narrowing his blue eyes.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked in a softer tone, walking towards her so he could look at her more closely. "I'll just tell them that Pyrrha - the girl who's supposed to perform tonight - is sick."

This time, a brown eyebrow rose.

He sighed, knowing exactly why she was looking at him like that.

"I can ask someone else to tell them you're not feeling well."

The brunette nodded at him, believing that statement much more than his previous one.

 _As if HE can handle being in a crowd._ She internally scoffed.

They had a fun, light-hearted banter, but soon, the weight of the reality hit her, along with the much heavier weight of her distraughtness and insecurity, of course.

Her silver eyes glanced away into nothingness as she went back to the subject. "Just… just give me more time to think."

"Take all the time you need," he said to her, giving her what was actually a very kind smile… before it completely changed into a sheepish one. "But please hurry up, though."

The girl chuckled at his silly attempt at calming her down. But in a strange way, he sort of did make her feel less jittery.

She gave him a two-finger salute while wearing a far too serious face, just for the sake of being silly.

"Aye, aye, Captain!"

He snickered good-heartedly alongside her before walking away, presumably to continue doing his waiter work.

When he was gone, Ruby looked at herself; at the articles of clothing she'd chose to wear.

The girl didn't really feel all that confident wearing the clothes she herself had chosen.

 _Well, sure, I mean, I THINK this looks nice? And Jaune thinks so too. But we're not exactly pros at fashion._

… _Man, I wish Yang's here. Really need her right now to not feel like a complete wreck._

But for the first time, her big sister wasn't here to support her like she'd always do. She was off to who-knows-where, only saying she thought she knew where Blake was…

Thinking about it gave her an unpleasant shiver.

Ruby could only pray that the two girls were fine.

She traced her fingers through the lines of her loose black shirt all the way down to her bright red jeans.

She thought it went well with her red-dyed hair, but, again, she was no expert.

 _What would Yang think?_ she internally asked herself, but quickly knew that Yang's approval wasn't what she was looking for, not this time…

 _What would Weiss think?_

Her fingers stopped tracing. In fact, her entire body tensed at the mere thought of what she came here to do.

For whom she came here.

A girl with a gorgeous shade of white hair that shone the calm light of the moon, a very contrast to her sister's own glow of the blazing sun.

A girl with pale, yet exquisite and not to mention plain gorgeous face which words simply couldn't describe.

A scar on the said face which only made her even more fascinating and unique (Not to mention totally badass.)

A stance, mannerism, and stride which spoke professionalism, authoritativeness, and classiness.

A girl who she _spoke to_ without _realizing_ it.

A girl who she'd _argued_ with.

A girl who she outright accused of being a _thief!_

A girl whose name was Weiss Schnee.

Weiss. Schnee.

A girl who'd told her she would be in this restaurant to see her perform.

… _Weiss Schnee._

Just thinking about it made her 'eeped' and check the audience again for probably the twentieth time, searching for the woman she'd grown to admire more and more each day.

… _Nope, she's not there,_ she confirmed after a few long seconds of looking at the crowd. _But what if she's hiding?_

As soon as her mind conjured that idea, she scraped it while groaning mutedly.

C'mon Ruby, she's probably not going to be here.

She sighed.

 _The woman's probably not even the REAL Weiss Schnee. She could just be pretending to mess with you._

Another sigh; this time, longer.

She opened her palms, looking at her small fingers which had started to tremble yet again.

Her brunette-colored hair swayed as she dropped her head, closing her silvery eyes, clenching her hands tightly, willing her gnawing emotions away.

Whether she's there or not doesn't matter. I will perform no matter what.

Ruby found herself in front of the small busy kitchen moments later, gazing apprehensively at the people working there before she found her blond friend who was giving out orders to the chef from the paper he read.

"Jaune."

She called out only once and his eyes met hers. She gestured him to come to her.

"Yeah?" he asked, both his voice and face showing concern for her, which she was grateful for.

"I've decided…"

Her eyelashes fluttered as she let her eyes closed.

There was a very small probability of Weiss Schnee actually being the woman who she'd had a conversation with over the phone and an even smaller probability of that actual singer going to this restaurant only to see her perform.

… But there was a probability. Small as it may, it was still there.

And that was what motivated her into calling Jaune in the first place, half-shouting half-begging him to let her perform tonight, and thanking whatever gods were up there when he told her that she was in luck because the woman who was originally supposed to play was unwell.

That was what gave her the strength to quickly pack her large acoustic guitar, get dressed, and ran towards the cafe all in the span of fifteen minutes.

And that should- no, would be what motivated her to take action now.

Eyes of diamonds revealed themselves as her eyelids flew open, revealing a look of anything but fear.

"I'll do it."

Pools of deep blue widened before his traces of worry disintegrated, replaced with that of calmness and - perhaps? - even pride.

"Okay." His voice was deeper than it was before. "I'll set everything up," he told the girl absentmindedly as he walked towards her packed instrument, unzipping the case to reveal her precious baby. "Will you be playing the same song as yesterday?"

That probably would be the safest option; playing a song she'd been practicing, the song she was supposed to play at this place on a different time.

… But again, everything she'd done after that phone call with the supposed singer was anything _but_ safe.

Like running to a cafe with her guitar in the middle of the night, for instance.

That didn't exactly scream the word 'safe'.

So… eh, screw it.

"Nope." She found herself really enjoying the way his face dropped and paled at the same time. With a chuckle, she said confidently, "I'm gonna play something even better."

He looked like he wanted to say something - probably to ask her why she wanted to change the song and to what - but all it took for him to start preparing her things was a stern gaze from silver eyes that flickered towards her guitar; a silent plea to him to stop standing around.

Together, both she and Jaune help set up everything.

Tuning her guitar was, of course, the first thing she did. Next was strapping her guitar and making sure it was comfortable to wear. Next was sound-checking the metal she personally embedded on her wooden instrument to act as a beat as she played to further improve her performance and to add more variety to the sounds.

All the while, Jaune set up the chair and the mics, before strumming Ruby's guitar to make sure the sound was okay.

When he felt though he was finished, he turned to meet her eyes. In his gaze was a soundless question.

Ruby gave him a thumbs up. That was all he needed to get off the stage hurriedly.

"Oh my Dust that was so embarrassing," he said, leaning towards the wall.

She had to stand on her toes to give the tall boy a pat on the shoulder.

"There there," she smiled at him a smile that _looked_ comforting. "It's not like you'll perform or anything."

That was how sarcasm worked, right? Or was that irony? Well, she had no idea what her words entailed, but it seemed to have an effect on him.

He gave her an admiring look - one that children would give to the elderly - and said, "I still can't believe you'll perform for all of them to see."

"Oh," she chuckled knowingly. "I will perform, but not for the world to see."

She looked at the crowds and, suddenly, they didn't faze her as much as they had earlier.

Determination flared on her chest. She, with eyes that almost seemed to glow, said, "I will perform for her to see."

"...Umm… I have no idea what you're saying but whoever you're doing this for, umm… hope she likes it."

She nodded without even sparing him a glance.

With nothing but a strong belief that Weiss would come, she walked onto the stage.

She gazed at every customer; few were looking at her in curiosity, but more weren't even aware of her existence.

Nonetheless, she bowed before settling down in her chair, strapping herself in, and positioning the mic and her guitar.

She took a deep breath-

Her mind thinking of only one thing: _Weiss._

-And she played.

* * *

Three footsteps echoed loudly in the narrow, empty street.

Orbs of baby blue eyes looked forward, while two other pairs looked at who those eyes belonged to.

"Are you sure she's there?"

Even without looking at his face, Weiss knew how petrified Neptune was. He might be the most laid back out of them all during normal circumstances, but during dire ones, he was always the most scared of them all.

"I swear to Dust: If that Yang girl did _something_ to Blake…"

Weiss sighed at the badly concealed anger dripping from his tone.

Or maybe Sun didn't try to conceal it at all.

"If she wanted to hurt Blake, she would've done so from the beginning," Weiss said as she fearlessly looked at him in the eye, feeling a little sense of pride at herself when she saw his stunned look.

Little did he know, she was merely repeating the words Yang herself had told her earlier on the phone.

"Yeah," the faunus grumbled with a frown on his face. "But we still gotta be careful."

Weiss mentally shook her head, but couldn't deny how his worries weren't exactly exaggerated.

"Yang told us she will bring Blake back to us," she said to convince the boys and herself.

"And if she doesn't?" was the hissed response.

Fortunately, Neptune grabbed ahold of the blond's shoulder and shook his head, a silent way of telling him to stop dwelling on the matter.

The blue-haired boy turned to look at her curiously, ignoring the glare Sun sent his way.

"I'm just wondering where we're going," were his simple words.

"We are going to go to the restaurant of Adel," Weiss responded in a factual tone, holding no arguments.

The blue-haired boy looked down for seconds, thinking, before looking back at her again with even more confusion.

"That doesn't really explain anything."

"Yeah." Sun stopped dead in his tracks. His fists were clenched, she noticed. "We're supposed to be out there looking for her."

Weiss closed her eyes in annoyance when Neptune stopped walking as well.

She turned around to look at the taller children.

First, she strode until she was inches away from Neptune. Thankfully, she wore high heels, so she didn't have to look up at him that much. Plus, with or without her high heels, Weiss Schnee could make herself be feared; whenever she wanted, wherever she wanted, and by whoever she wanted.

This fact was proven when the tall blue-haired boy immediately - and almost instinctually - took a step back and swayed in his steps.

… She hadn't even opened her mouth yet.

"Listen, Nep." The boy flinched at the mere mention of his own name. "Yang Xiao Long told me she knew where Blake might be and right now, she is coming to get her. There is nothing we can do. We've done _everything_ we could apart from involving the police. Got it?" She paused to deeper look into his eyes, then repeated in a much lower, slower, and more powerful tone, "Got it?"

She deemed his quick shaky nods were an acceptable enough answer and moved onto her next victim.

"And you." She pointed a finger at him. He, unlike Neptune, still held some resistance. Not that it mattered. "Stop being so damn overprotective for no reason. The worst thing that can happen is that she got lost. That's it." She furrowed her eyebrows and dangerously shortened their distance, noses almost touching. "Do I make myself clear?" she asked in the same tone used earlier.

He held his stubborn gaze towards her for seconds that must felt agonizing for him before finally looking away dejectedly, mumbling a whispered "Fine."

With that, she stepped back.

Weiss knew Sun was just worried. He just had a different way of processing it, which was by blaming it on the possibly innocent girl who had nothing to do with Blake being missing.

It was why she told him, "She's fine."

It wasn't comforting. She didn't try to make it sound that way, nor was she ever any good at it either way.

But Sun knew what she was trying to say and finally looked back at her. His now honest face showing gratitude towards the heiress and fear for the noirette.

Fortunately, Neptune thought it would be best to comfort both she and Sun.

… Unfortunately, his way of comforting them was to tackle them into a neck-strangling hug.

"Aww!" he cooed. "You guys are just so cute!"

Weiss wasn't sure if he realized she was trying to pull his ridiculously strong arms away from her neck.

Or if he realized Sun was punching his lower stomach in an attempt to be freed.

… He probably noticed. He just didn't care. It was infuriating.

Eventually, he set them free... from death.

And after getting 'friendly' punches from Sun and 'polite' ear-pulling from she herself, they all continued on with their tracks, the heiress and the faunus mumbling about how grateful Neptune should be with how he was spared.

After another few minutes, Weiss slowed her pace and looked around, grumbling in half-annoyance half-confusion.

At first, no one had said it, yet everyone was thinking it.

Eventually, though, it was Neptune who voiced all of their thoughts:

"Okay, where is this restaurant?"

"It's supposed to be around here," Weiss responded as she played with her mobile device, checking the address of the building through the map on her phone. Blue eyes widened and she pointed forward. "It's around there, we're close by… at least, that's what it _says_."

"Do you even know what it looks like?" Sun asked, giving her a raised eyebrow.

"We'll know when we get there."

As if on cue, Weiss heard something odd.

No; not just 'something', and certainly not just 'odd.'

"Do you guys hear that?"

"Hear what?" was their synchronized answer.

And she supposed… it was understandable.

It was far away - she could barely hear it from here - but that tune…

There was no denying it…

Weiss ran… and slowed her pace down when she realized she was wearing high-heels since it would be a deathwish to want to run in these Dust-awful things.

She ignored the yellings coming from the boys, even when knowing they were livid of knowing yet another one of their members had run.

She owed them an explanation…

An explanation which she would give later.

Trusting her ear, memory, and heart, Weiss led herself towards the source of that tune.

Honestly, she was shocked anyone would even remember it, let alone play it.

Most people thought it was simply 'good', always telling her it was nothing compared to the other, newer ones.

Some would even dare call it lesser than good…

Weiss had arrived.

In front of her was a small restaurant.

Normally, she would look at it longer and judge every minuscule detail embedded in each and everything - the color palette, the type of woods used, the lightings.

But now, she couldn't bring herself to even describe the restaurant - she didn't even know what its name was.

Slowly, she walked inside, waving dismissively at the waiter who was about to greet her.

She must go in.

That music was in there.

And, whoever was playing it…

She needed to know.

Once inside, she halted.

No one was talking.

All of their eyes were looking at what was being displayed - or rather who - on stage.

One man was even munching on his crackers and trying to be as quiet and discreet as possible by doing so slowly. It was a disgusting sight she had the displeasure of seeing.

Nonetheless, all of the people who were sitting as customers were drawn to the one playing on the stage.

Weiss couldn't blame them. Even she was drawn, and she studied music.

Upon the small stage was a girl with short brown hair, the tip of it dyed red. The shade of it was similar to the rose patterns painted on her white guitar. She looked to be the same age as Weiss, maybe even a year younger. She honestly couldn't tell, not from here.

However, that wasn't just what she was focusing on.

The girl herself wasn't just what everyone sitting on this restaurant was focusing on.

No.

It was her tremendous display of talent through playing the instrument.

Her fingers danced throughout each of the strings in such vast motions that the heiress had trouble keeping up with it just by looking at it.

That girl was somehow playing as both a melodic tune and rhythmic one. Tapping the body of the instrument while playing both the chords and melodies of the song.

Percussion guitar; that was the term for the style of how she played it.

Weiss had only heard of it. She had never actually seen someone play it.

And, wow…

This girl… whoever she was…

She was extraordinary.

Not just because of the way she played the instrument, but also because of what she was playing.

"Whoa," she heard Sun breathed, unaware that both he and Neptune had been beside her this whole time, watching this prodigy as she performed well.

Weiss didn't comment.

She didn't say anything. Not a single word.

She, like any other sane person would do, simply watched the show.

Watch what was possibly the most entertaining show she'd ever had the pleasure of seeing.

The concept of time flew by Weiss' mind as soon as she saw this artist. She'd forgotten that time moved on, and eventually, all things must come to an end, no matter how good it was or how much she enjoyed it.

But during those minutes, she'd hummed alongside the instrument; humming that all too familiar song.

She didn't even realize the song was over until a gentle hand grabbed her shoulder.

She looked up to find a deep shade of blue eyes. It motioned between her and… something on the left. She followed his gaze…

And felt many of her emotions clashing with each other within at the sight.

Blake.

She was there.

Alongside who must be Yang Xiao Long.

They were both clapping. The blonde whistled while screaming "That's my Rubyroo~!"

Sun took a step. Before he could take another one, Weiss grabbed his wrist not too painfully. She knew what he was about to do.

He looked at her, giving her a very questioning glance. Neptune did so too.

"Let her have fun," were her only words.

Sun, at first, glared at her as if she was the bad one, but that only lasted a few seconds before understanding crashed into him, resulting in him sighing.

"Okay."

Seeing his old friend in such a state of turmoil, Neptune lightly punched him.

"C'mon," he motioned towards one of the tables with a grin. "Let's have some fun too."

Sun smiled, trying to be happy again, and replied, "Alright, Nep."

However, Weiss wasn't quite done with the whole performance. Not yet.

She couldn't simply let it go like that.

She needed to meet whoever had displayed such an out-of-the-world skill.

A performance that only few would even dream of doing and fewer could pull it off with nearly no mistakes whatsoever.

She needed to speak with her.

So, Weiss said, "Go on ahead, I'll come to you later." Without giving them a chance to answer, she walked towards where she saw the girl went. It might take a while for the heiress to find her, but she was determined to-

Oh. Wait. This girl was just behind the curtains of the stage.

She was with one of the waiters of the restaurant who was tall and had blond hair.

They appeared to be talking. Though, the boy did most of the talking. He was blabbering compliments about how awesome she was on stage.

The girl looked shy and uncomfortable about it. She waved off his compliments and dismissed it, telling him he was overexaggerating.

She looked… so young. So innocent.

Was this really the same girl that had performed out there?

Did a skill that great was perfectly honed, expertly crafted by this girl?

Did she purposefully act so humbled so it was easier to disguise her incredible talents? Or was she just such a dolt.

Wait.

 _Dolt?_

The boy noticed her arrival… and he, unsurprisingly, gawked.

 _Oh, right. I'm practically a celebrity now,_ her mind drawled.

The brunette didn't, however, since her back was facing the heiress, using her phone.

"Umm" and "I" were the only partly coherent things this boy said.

She simply raised an eyebrow.

Clearly, this wasn't a man she would have any pleasure of seeing, let alone _talking_ with.

"I would like to chat her alone please, if you don't mind," she said, purposefully using the same tone she had earlier used on Neptune and Sun. The tone which made the boys, even when they'd known her for almost a year, cower in fear.

The effect her tone had on this… pity excuse of a man was rather amusing.

He nodded fearfully. Took a step forward before falling over. He then tried to run only to fall over again.

Once he was out of eyesight did she focus herself back on who actually mattered.

"Excuse me," she said softly, unsure of how she would speak to the girl, what she should talk about at first.

Should she immediately get straight to the point? Well, that seemed less confusing, but what if it only did nothing but made the girl uncomfortable. Should she start off by asking the girl who she was? That sounded easier. Was that how the youth these days talked?

… The girl didn't hear her. Didn't even know Weiss was standing behind her.

"Hello?" she tried again, in a louder tone.

The girl certainly heard that. But, much to her absolute disappointment, only waved a hand and mumbled, "Just a minute."

Oh. If there was one thing she hated, it was being belittled.

She didn't care if that probably wasn't what the girl was doing; she was Weiss Schnee and no one should try to think of belittling her. Not even her own parents.

With a newfound fury, she yelled "Hey!"

This time, the girl finally noticed her.

Startled, she jumped and turned around to face the heiress.

Weiss was surprised to see her eyes. They were metallic silver. It was captivating.

For seconds, she simply stared at her.

And the girl herself simply stared back.

Yes… simply.

"Y-you're... Weiss Schnee."

Upon hearing her voice, orbs of blue widened in unsuspecting shock.

It couldn't be?... Could it?

Could she…

 _Could she be?_

It seemed too impossible, yet… it was the _exact_ same voice. And plus, back then, over the phone… _she_ had said she would perform at a restaurant.

It was too impossible, and yet…

Weiss found herself almost in tears…

From denial.

"AND YOU'RE THAT DOLT?!"

* * *

 **Author's Notes: "And that's how I killed two hundred people by giving them a cliffhanger."**

 **But seriously, first of all, that cliffhanger though… Sorry, it was nearing my word limit (4000) and I just… when this opportunity came I just… I had to, guys. Sorry. I just had to. (jk I'm not sorry at all.)**

 **Also, oh yeah… THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE 200 FOLLOWERS AND 100+ FAVOURITES! AHHH! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!**

 **And what do you guys think of the title? Is it too… cheesy? Or do you think it's totally badass and fits with the main focus of this chapter? Because I certainly think the latter.**

 **Huh. Now that I think about it, this interaction is kind of a parallel of the Bumblebee first encounter. Only, it's sort of switched.**

 **With Bumblebee, it was the fan (Yang) who sought out the musician (Blake). The musician freaking out over the fan.**

 **With Whiterose, it was the musician (Wiess) who sought out the fan (Ruby). And… well…**

 **The only thing that was the same was that both Weiss and Blake (the musicians) were the ones freaking out over their fans.**

 **Weiss screamed "You're that dolt?!" while Blake screamed "Yang?!"**

 **Go check out my first chapter, if you don't believe me.**

 **Oh, also… I really am 14. Did you guys… seriously think I'm older than that? That's just… wow… Plus, I mean, it's not that surprising, I'm not that young anymore, I'm the same age as Snow White, so that means something, right?**

 **… Right. Just… yeah…**

 **Lastly, but NOT LEAST, I'd like to point out that I wrote this whole thing in under 5 hours. (Well, excluding the editing part, which usually took 2 hours.)**

 **So, yeah, that…**

 **It's awesome! Okay! It's awesome to be able to write so awesomely in under a short period of time! Usually, it would take ten minutes before I can even begin a chapter!**

 **… BE IMPRESSED!**

 **One last thing:**

 **"Weiss ran… and slowed her pace down when she realized she was wearing high-heels since it would be a deathwish to want to run in these Dust-awful things."**

 **Can we just take a moment to appreciate this line…**

 **Oh yeah, and have a good life and stuff. Bye~!**

* * *

 **Jiore: As with the crush part, I just think it's sort of weird for her NOT to deal with it. I mean, what did you think she'll do? Run away from her problem?... Wait a minute.**

 **FeugoFox24: The last chapter is weirdly the hardest chapter for me to write yet. Contrary to this one.**

 **steelbone532: IKR! "Noirette" makes me sound so smart and wise! Like I'm a female version of Professor Ozpin!**

 **Mattricole: Glad to hear you agree with me. I myself wanted them to kiss as soon as possible, but I want to make this story not just enjoyable, but realistic as well. Hence, the 6 months thing. As for the future… well… no spoilers~**

 **RevanShan: Hahahaha, nope! I REALLY NEED it! I may have little problems surrounding english (yes, they teach those from where I'm from) but science is just a whole lot of big fat nope.**

 **PixiePire: I mean, thanks? I honestly thought you all knew I was a teenager from reading my story, ESPECIALLY the author's notes part.**

 **FoxyFoxation: Well, the credits should go to my teacher. I'm sure it must be confusing for him to teach someone how to play guitar backwards. My mom had to buy a large mirror so he can teach me. So, props to him.**

 **Ehehe, it was admittedly hard for me to write that chapter, so it really makes me happy to know you think I handled it well.**

 **Ah, and thanks for your review!**

 **Complicated Kurumi: Darn, where the heck have you been? I was worried! But now you're back! Yay!**

 **Well, I'm sure your reports aren't THAT bad… right?**

 **I was taught by my mom a lot about relationships; she had lots of friends from all over the world and they all have stories, both good ones and bad ones. Hearing her talk about all her friends made me realise how stupid young people's depiction of love is (lots of kissing.) So, really, the credit goes to my mom.**

 **And big thanks for your review! Glad to hear you enjoyed chapter 10 as well! I had LOTS of fun writing that one xp**

 **Z: T. H. A. N. K. Y. O. U. :D**

 **Lokfun1995: Hmm… But how are you able to fit all of those in a lamp? *Le gasp* is it a magical lamp?! *Le gasp louder* ARE YOU MAGIC?!**

 **THATANIMOKID: I'm sure you will be pleased by the next few chapters that has yet been published. Can't really say much cuz I don't wanna spoil you, but it'll still be entertaining for you to read, THAT I can promise you.**

 **Jupiter S. Nikos: This juicy enough for you? ;)**

 **Karvost: Oh, c'mon Os~ It's understandable that people WILL be (sort of) dissapointed with the previous chapter, because if I was the reader, I'll definitely be too! But, hehehe! Luckily for me, I'm NOT!**

 **And don't worry! I have lots of plans for the future! And while I HOPE it won't suck, I can certainly confirm that many of those ideas aren't things that many had done before.**

 **And nahh, I don't mind any long reviews! Instead, they make me happy! Of course, every review makes me happy, but longer ones that just talk about what the reviewer thinks and feels about the chapter is much more… great, you know.**

 **PS, I'M TRYING! I LIVE IN A SMALL TOWN THERE ARE NOT MANY PEOPLE WHO CAN DO COMPUTER THINGS AND THE ONES WHO DO ARE VERY HARD TO CONTACT!**

 **RyuNoMe24: Wow, do you really think that chapter was the best? I was honestly really scared people won't like it because of the tone of it.**

 **Yay! I do remember, and I'm glad you finally know why Blake acts the way she does!**

 **The kiss scene is honestly the only way I can imagine Yang and Blake kissing each other. Like, Yang MAY be confident, but she was about to kiss BLAKE, the girl she'd been crushing on for 6 months. OF COURSE she was nervous.**

 **And as for that ending part… I… honestly don't know what you mean. "Blake suddenly being unentusthiastic"? What? Care to point out which line you refer to?**

 **And yeah. I really miss writing you too ;_; it's hard for me to get it fixed since I live in a small town. My mom's been planning on taking me to a big city where I can get it fixed, but idk when…**


	13. The Blossoming Guitar

Ruby Rose slowly opened her eyes.

Her sore hands still gripped her guitar tightly; fingers still positioned in a chord she didn't care to remember right now.

Tiredness consumed her and sweat embedded her forehead, making her breathing heavier than usual.

For a few seconds which felt like minutes, she didn't remember much of… anything, really.

She only recalled two things; one of them was playing the song she loved so much.

And the second was…

The brunette clicked back into reality when her sister screamed "That's my Rubyroo~!" from afar.

Strange, she didn't remember seeing Yang come to see her play. Wasn't the blonde supposed to be searching for Blake?

… Then again, it wasn't as if she remembered much.

Under normal circumstances, she would be embarrassed that not only did Yang yell in a (sort of) public place like that, but she chose to yell out her least favorite nickname of all.

But tonight wasn't under any normal circumstances, which was why she found herself smiling widely, happily, and proudly.

Maybe because she really enjoyed this night's performance and thought it was, overall, decent.

Maybe because all of the others seemed to think so as well, especially with how they all quieted down when she started to play.

Maybe because she was relieved that her sister and Blake was alright.

Maybe… maybe because there was still a chance Weiss would be here.

A voice told her, _Don't. You'll only get disappointed._ _She can NEVER be here._

Ruby believed in that voice.

After all, the reason she came here was solely that of Weiss Schnee, but… now that she thought more of it, she realized how impossible it was for the singer to actually be the one who called her, let alone come to the restaurant to meet her.

With that in mind, Ruby stood up and gave the audience a little bow which she hoped was good enough and left.

She didn't spare her audience a glance. Not because she didn't feel the need to or any other arrogance-related matter, but because she was scared that she won't find Weiss among the crowds of people.

As soon as she closed the curtains, two rough hands grabbed ahold of her shoulder. She was turned around and forced to look into an excited - maybe even paranoid - pools of sea blue eyes.

"Since when can you do that?! My Dust, Ruby! That was the best thing I've ever seen in my life! And the way you do that drumming thing while strumming is just- holy _cow!_ "

She could hear his words, but she couldn't comprehend what they meant…

Because he was strongly shaking her back and forth.

She grabbed his wrists and pulled his arms away, giving him a small, not so genuine smile.

"Thanks, but it's not like I'm not _that_ great."

The results of her words were for him to grab her - this time, on her arms - and vigorously shake her… again.

"Are you fu- _freaking_ serious right now!? You can't be serious, Rubes! How can you say something like that! Don't you _even_ dare!"

His shrieking voice was actually so high-pitched she would've thought he was a girl if she didn't know any better.

"Jaune- I know- you're- excited- and stuff- but- I'm- getting- dizzy!" she managed to speak in-between his rough… treatment.

He let her go. She almost fell but regained her balance rather quickly by holding onto the first thing she saw, which was the curtain.

"And what song is that?!" he asked, not even slightly worried about the fact that he was almost responsible for injuring his own friend.

She glared at him, though his question made her cheeks turn into a light shade of pink.

Looking away, she vaguely answered, "A song."

"And how are you able to play it like that?!" was his next question.

"Oh, you know, I just… play." She gave him an undevoted shrug.

Because really, that was what she'd recalled doing.

As soon as she started playing, things like the audience, the chord progression; they all seemed to vanish.

The only thing she remembered was how good she felt when she played and how much Weiss would love it…

But, that was when she was in her so-called 'music-daze'.

Now that she was finally able to think calmly, she realized how stupid her hopes were.

Ruby's phone buzzed. Knowing it must be from Yang - since she didn't have any friends - the brunette opened it and read the message that turned out to be, indeed, from her sister.

 _ **Ure so awesome Rubyroo! ! Big Sis is super proud of uuuuu!**_

Then, there were loads of heart emojis. Heart emojis and kissing emojis.

And- Wow, there were so many of them. Where did Yang even get this stuff?

Ruby messaged her:

 _ **U and Blake can have ur date, I'll be goin**_

Literally two seconds later, Yang already responded.

 _ **It's NOT a date!**_

There was an angry emoji.

The brunette snickered.

Sometimes, it was just too easy to tease her big sis.

"Hello?" she heard a feminine voice call out.

Ruby guessed it was someone who wanted to ask her where the bathroom was, so, because she was still in the middle of something very important - making fun of her sister, that was - the girl's only response to whoever was behind her was to swat her hand and said unconvincingly, "Just a minute."

There were many things she expected the person - no, the woman - to do when she'd told her that.

The most obvious one was to leave her alone with a thank you, especially knowing since Ruby was on her phone, she must be busy.

This woman could also simply do as she'd told her to do; wait.

Or maybe she would say whatever it was she wanted to say, even knowing that Ruby was still on her phone.

But this woman… she surpassed all of her expectations.

… Especially by yelling "Hey!" right _next to_ her ear. Her now most-likely damaged ear.

She jolted and looked to see who this woman was, wanting to tell her to stop yelling at people since it was rude and not to mention she was tired from the performance and busy from texting.

… She stopped breathing when she looked into those familiarly beautiful shade of light blue.

Her jaw dropped when her eye saw that scar. It looked _far_ more badass in real life.

Her knees trembled when she saw the entirety of this person's face.

This angel in front of her was wearing an oversized, unzipped white jacket, followed by a baby-blue nightgown and heels that looked painful to wear.

… Ruby was certain her heart was about to _explode_ from her chest with how rapidly it was beating.

There was no denying it:

Who was in front of her, that was.

"Y-you're… Weiss Schnee."

Ruby didn't believe that, not even after she'd said those words.

Was she in some kind of dream?

Yes, this _must_ be a dream.

"AND YOU'RE THAT DOLT?!"

… Scratch that, the Weiss in her dreams never yelled like _that._ Especially not those kinds of words.

This was no dream; her now definitely damaged ears told her so.

 _But… wait…_

 _That means…_

"You're actually Weiss Schnee," Ruby found herself voicing her thoughts. "You actually came here to see me perform…"

The angel in disguise in front of her looked away.

"Well, I had nothing else to do," was the girl's response. Ruby blinked. Somehow, she found that hard to believe.

Weiss' eyes slowly turned to look at her. There were many intense emotions there. Ruby got nervous just from looking at them.

"W-what is it?" Ruby asked, a little worried for her.

Weiss looked down, her cheeks had more of a reddish color than the rest of her face, which was odd.

Ruby noticed how cute she looked, especially when she acted the way she did, but quickly dismissed the idea.

 _You can fangirl later, right now, you need to act like a decent human being, was what she told herself._

"What you played…"

Ruby's cheeks blossomed with a deep red. So Weiss noticed what she had played out there.

She let out what was hopefully a good-hearted sounding chuckle.

"Yeah, it's my personal favorite," she confessed, scratching her head, wearing a grin.

"Really?" was the heiress' question as she looked at the younger girl, puzzled and almost unbelieving.

Ruby nodded.

"Not many know about it, but I think it's one of your best songs." After the words left her mouth, Ruby backpedaled. "I mean, not saying that the rest of your songs are _bad_ , but your first was just…" The brunette struggled with her words; pausing for a moment before she settled to use "Special."

Yeah. Special.

The older girl's lips were curled upwards into the faintest of smiles if one looked closely enough. Ruby was one of that person.

"People say it's not as amazing as the others."

Very quickly, Ruby answered as she shook her head, disagreeing, "People are wrong."

The heiress chuckled.

That seemingly small action sent her mind into a dizzying vertigo, heart fluttering, and entire body melting: Her entirety of self in a frenzy.

Wow. That was cute.

"It was your first song," Ruby explained, "I had a hard time finding it, and an even harder time learning how to play it. But in the end, it's worth it."

Shouldn't she be freaking out over encountering the Weiss Schnee?

Shouldn't she be dying over the fact that not only did Weiss Schnee actually fulfilled her promise - traveling to this restaurant only to see _her_ perform, but _she_ was the one who sought Ruby out, and not the other way around.

Ruby should be freaking out over how Weiss wanted to meet her…

But, strangely enough, it was the opposite.

It was odd, really.

The heiress had this… _Aura_ surrounding her that just made Ruby feel safe and calm.

Ruby liked it. In fact, she liked many things about Weiss.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Weiss asked.

Ruby knew what she was referring to. It was what most had asked after they'd seen her play.

"A lot of videos from the internet, mostly," replied the brunette. It was true. Because of her fear of socializing with people, she mostly stayed at home, browsing the web, educating herself with… weird useless facts.

But she still learned a lot from the internet; it was practically her second home by now! Heck, maybe even her first.

"No one taught you?" Weiss asked, taking a step closer towards her, so much so that Ruby could smell her perfume. "You didn't join any lessons?"

It was the scent of vanilla. It fit her.

Ruby mentally slapped herself for acting like such a creepy pervert.

"Nah," the brunette replied, hoping her tone sounded casual. "Most of the lessons are crowded with kids, and, well… I don't do well with people."

 _Yep. Great job, Ruby. You just HAD to tell her that you're an awkward introvert, do you?_

"Me neither."

 _Wait, what?_

Ruby repeated her thought, followed by, "But you're a star. You deal with people every day."

The heiress gave her an amused look: her heart skipped a beat and her throat dried, all caused by a simple gesture.

"Yes, I deal with them because I must, not because I enjoyed it."

Ruby blinked and processed the girl's words before she lost herself in laughter.

Out of all the things she'd expected of Weiss Schnee - the lead singer of Hunters and Huntresses, disliking to spoke with other people was definitely not one of them.

"What?" that lead singer asked, her cheeks puffed out. She probably didn't understand why Ruby was laughing and was offended.

The brunette shook her head, trying to keep her laughing fit in control.

"S-sorry, it's just, I never would've expected you to say those things." When Weiss gave the young girl a questioning look, she elaborated. "I mean, you're a _superstar!_ You have hundreds of fans and you meet them everyday!"

The heiress, in response, frowned.

That display of irritation was too cute for Ruby to comprehend.

"Sun and Neptune are the one who mostly deal with fans." She paused for a moment before her face softened. "Although I am forever grateful to everyone who supports my band and I."

Ruby grinned.

Weiss' face spoke one of curiosity. She turned her head away from the brunette. Following the singer's gaze, Ruby immediately knew what she was thinking when she realized the heiress was looking at her guitar.

"How long did you learn to play that instrument?" the older girl asked, pointing at her precious baby.

"Oh, umm," she thought of it for a moment, mentally counting the years before answering, "around six years, I think. I started when I was in fourth grade."

"... Interesting."

Ruby's cheeks reddened again, mostly from being self-conscious at the fact that Weiss was practically interrogating her and possibly judging her.

"May I see it?"

The brunette paused before answering, mostly shocked at the singer's unexpected politeness.

"O-oh yeah, sure, knock yourself out."

Weiss walked towards her guitar. She picked it up gently, tracing her delicate fingers towards the smooth rosy red patterns down onto the red-sprayed metal.

"Did you add this extension by yourself?" she asked.

Ruby stepped towards the heiress, looking back and forth between her precious and the precious girl.

"Yeah, I modified it so it won't ruin the sound," the brunette found herself easily and honestly explaining. "It's to add more effects, you know."

"I noticed," was her whispered response. "Many can play guitar, but only a few can do what you did."

With that, Ruby forced herself to laugh, thinking that the singer was a little over-exaggerating.

"Nah, lots of people can do that," she argued.

"But not as well as you," countered the band-member.

The brunette opened her mouth only to find she didn't have any arguments.

She supposed it was true that not many were able to play it as well as she was, but she too still had a lot to learn. After all, there was always room for improvements.

"Your name is Ruby Rose, correct?" Weiss asked, eyes only glancing at her for a second before returning back to her instrument as if it was more interesting than her…

"Last I checked, yeah." The words left the girl's mouth without her consent. She feared the heiress wouldn't appreciate her snarky remark.

However, that fear vanished when Weiss let out a small chuckle.

"And how old are you, Ruby Rose?" the singer asked, finally putting down her guitar - doing so with the utmost care, as if she was holding an actual baby, looking at her with a glint of light-hearted amusement in her eyes.

"Sixteen," Ruby proudly answered, smirking. "A year younger than you," she pointed out.

The singer's smooth-looking (and probably tasty) lips curled into a small smirk.

"It appears you are." However, that smirk disappeared in a beat as her face creased in a frown. "That doesn't explain why you acted like such a child."

Mentally, Ruby let out a loud _Eep!_ noise.

Psychically, she tried her super best to defend herself.

"W-well, you never told me your own name! All you said was that you're Blake's friend."

"That's because I am!" the singer yelled frustratedly. "I've told you countless times! You _never_ believed me! You and your sister!"

She snorted sarcastically, crossing her arms. "Yeah, because that explains why you answered Blake's phone."

"Actually. It does."

 _Crap, she's right._

"W-well," the guitarist said stubbornly, unwilling to admit that she was in the wrong. "It's called being cautious!"

Weiss sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"... Fine."

 _Yush!_ She won the argument… sort of.

Silence enveloped the small room. Ruby, being the awkward potato that she was, didn't know what to say. Meanwhile, Weiss herself wasn't making anything better by not saying anything.

But there was a question she'd been meaning to ask ever since she found out Weiss had seen her perform.

So, with the bravery of a chicken, she asked in an unintentionally very small voice, "Do you… like it?"

The heiress' eyes met hers.

"What?"

The brunette swallowed and looked down, fidgeting.

"My… my performance," she mumbled, partly hoping Weiss wouldn't be able to hear her because of how _stupid_ this was, yet partly hoping she would be so Ruby didn't have to repeat herself. "What do you think of it?"

Gathering up the little courage that she had, Ruby took the chance and looked up to find Weiss' baby blue eyes.

And… they were far more mesmerizing in person.

Ruby felt lucky she was able to see those eyes of blue, especially this close.

Her jaw unclenched at the sight of those rare shade of blue.

She was dazed so badly that she couldn't hear what the heiress had said - didn't even see her mouth opening.

"S-sorry, could you repeat that?" she guiltily asked.

"I said it was unique."

Ruby blinked before her eyebrow rose. Out of all the things the heiress could've chosen to describe her performance…

"Why 'unique'?"

She tilted her face to the side. Weiss' face softened; it made Ruby's heart skip a beat, or maybe two.

"I suppose it's not just the fact that you played _that_ song, but rather, how you _chose_ to play that song," was her explanation, her eyes traveling back towards Ruby's guitar yet again. "It has a different taste, a different rhythm, but it's still my song. That's why it's unique."

Ruby nodded, completely understanding what the girl was trying to say.

"Yeah, I couldn't possibly replicate your song completely," she said whilst shrugging. "So I changed a few things to make it more fitting to be played with an acoustic guitar."

Soon, the young girl found herself having a deep intellectual conversation with the singer surrounding all things music.

They talked about the theories of music, and what really made something sound good. Weiss had said it all relied upon the display of atmosphere, but Ruby believed it to be the overall beats and melodies.

They talked about what type of music the new generations liked and their thoughts on it. They both agreed rather quickly that youngsters these days just didn't understand music at all.

They talked about how today's music focused more on appealing the listeners than actually sounding good and meaning something. Weiss had ranted about how she wanted to change that through her own pieces of music.

They each told each other about their favorite music genres. Ruby admitted that although her style of playing the guitar ranged between classical and country, her favorite genre was metal. While Weiss, unsurprisingly, told her the beauty of classical and mentioned that she was a fan of metal as well.

And during the talk, Ruby had never felt more… herself.

It was as if she had nothing to worry, nothing to be doubtful about.

It seemed as if this room was the only room that existed.

The only other person that mattered was Weiss Schnee.

For a moment, she didn't feel as if they were leagues apart.

As if she was Weiss' fan.

As if Weiss was her idol.

It didn't feel like that at all.

For a moment, they were just... two girls chatting.

Ruby was enjoying herself so much to the point where she'd forgotten how late it was.

Her enjoyment had to be taken away by the world in the form of her phone vibrating.

It was from none other than Yang.

 _ **Cmon, Rubbles**_

 _ **We gotta go home**_

Her face must've given it away, because Weiss softly told her, "It's late."

Ruby knew the heiress herself was just as disappointed as she was, if not, more.

"We can… exchange numbers?" Ruby suggested hopefully with a shy smile.

Before tonight, she thought of Weiss as her idol, as someone who deserved to be put on such a high pedestal, as someone who was leagues ahead of her.

As this perfect singer.

But now…

Now, she didn't know what to make of her other than the perfect girl.

She didn't know what to make of them; Weiss and herself.

Weiss nodded with that smile that Ruby had quickly and easily grown to love.

They exchanged each other's numbers and texted each other to make sure it really was their number.

Weiss' text was simply:

 _ **Ruby?**_

The brunette looked at the older girl and gave her a grin of confirmation. She then had a mischieveous idea and texted the older girl.

Two seconds after it was sent, Weiss sighed and gave her a tired look.

"'Hi, thief'? Really, Ruby?"

The guilty girl snickered.

"Well, I suppose I should get going now," Weiss said as she turned to face the opposite direction; the exit.

A pang of something akin to horror hit her, making her hastily say, "Wait."

The older girl turned around and looked at her questioningly, wordlessly prying her to say whatever it was she wanted to say.

It took her a moment, but eventually, Ruby asked, "Can we meet up again? Someday?"

Weiss smiled at her. _That's a good sign… I think._

"We will," she said a little too vaguely, turning around again to leave.

Ruby, on instinct, grabbed her wrist, though not too harshly.

When her brittle silver was met with orbs of unreadable blue, Ruby let out another question.

"When?"

Weiss didn't pull her hand away. She didn't even show any signs of discomfort.

The heiress suddenly took a step closer towards her. Close enough that Ruby could see every strand of her white hair and every slight crease on her face.

The brunette could almost feel her breath.

"Six months."

Ruby's stomach dropped.

She... honestly didn't know what to say. She didn't say anything as the heiress very gently pulled away, giving her a longing, beautiful smile that the brunette wouldn't forget for a long time - if ever.

Diamond-blue eyes flickered.

"May I ask something?"

Dully, Ruby nodded, not trusting her mouth to cooperative with her, or even to operate at all.

"Your guitar; do you have a name for it?"

Her voice was so soft. So delicate. The brunette feared that, if she didn't listen as carefully as she did now, she wouldn't be able to hear it.

"... White Rose."

Ruby didn't feel her lips parting, feel her throat vibrating as she answered the girl's question.

She saw as Weiss gave her another, more fragile smile.

"I like it. It fits."

She stood there like a statue as Weiss turned around and started walking. Her figure becoming smaller and smaller with each step she took.

The girl of her dream stopped.

Their eyes met for what felt like the last time.

"This is not a goodbye, Ruby Rose."

And with that, Weiss was gone.

As if everything that had happened was merely a dream.

… Only it wasn't.

* * *

"Do you have anything to say for yourself, Belladonna?"

Weiss saw as her noirette friend flinched before cringing in guilt.

 _Good, she SHOULD feel guilty after what she put us through, her bitter mind declared._

"... Sorry?"

The heiress' eyes narrowed. She expected more than a simple 'sorry', especially from someone who very deeply enjoyed literature. But the boys thought otherwise, accepting that it was good enough.

"Just don't do it again," Neptune said, ever the kind-boy that he secretly always was. "You gave us a scare there."

"Yeah," Sun added, grinning his infamous toothy smile. "Nep almost had a panic attack."

"You're one to talk," the blue-haired boy responded in a grumble. "You should've seen her, Blake," he said, turning to look at the bassist. "He was so pissed even I was scared! Isn't that right, Weissy?"

The heiress' reply was only to raise her eyebrow, enjoying the way his face fell as if he'd betrayed her.

"Honestly, do you really have to reveal to everyone who we are?" she asked instead. "Who I am?" Her voice turned into a hiss.

The drummer grinned far too widely to actually be innocent.

"Why? Don't you appreciate your fans?"

She sent him a frosty glare. "I appreciate the people supporting me. What I don't appreciate is people _shoving_ their phones right into my _face_ , demanding they have a picture with me."

"Point," said the monkey faunus as he nodded, wearing a devious smile.

When Weiss had come to the boys to tell them they should go back to the apartment, she was only a little surprised but mostly furious to see them enjoying themselves chatting with lots of girls.

Sun had even grabbed a knife and a fork to try and drum using glasses and plates.

Weiss didn't know what was more surprising; the fact that none of those fragile objects broke despite his strength, how he actually managed to pull off a good beat, or how many people admired his play.

She didn't want to grab any attention to herself and tried to be as subtle and inconspicuous as possible while trying to grab their attention.

But, knowing that this was Sun and Neptune she was dealing with, she should've known that, upon meeting their eyes, they both would yell out her name for the whole restaurant to see.

… To say the least, what happened next, for her, was far from pleasant.

An hour later was where she found herself currently; which was at she and Blake's room, still tired from smiling and taking all of those pictures.

She'd known about why Blake ran away as soon as she'd read an article from her mobile device about Adam finally free from jail and reforming the White Fang again.

She quickly told Neptune and Sun about this information when Blake wasn't looking and ordered them not to mention _any_ of this to the noirette.

"So, Weiss," Blake said, giving her a sly smile for a reason unknown to her. "You… had a conversation with Yang's sister?"

"Ruby," she supplied. "She's a prodigy. We mostly talked about the different theories of music."

"And…?"

Weiss thought for a moment.

"We also went in-depth about the different genres of music and what separates each of them."

Blake shook her head.

Neptune face-palmed.

Sun groaned.

Weiss… didn't understand why they had those reactions.

She was being honest, wasn't she? She had a splendid time with the young brunette, and she hoped they would meet again to have more conversations together, maybe even do a kind of collaboration together.

"So, six months, huh?" Sun asked, his question directed towards the cat faunus. "Just when this whole tour is over, and we go to another tour. That's when you'll… you know."

Blake nodded before saying, "Yeah. We'll wait that long to see if our feelings will…" Her eyes trailed to the side. "We'll see what happens when the time comes."

"Six months."

All eyes turned to look at her, giving her a silent question; a question of why she had said those words.

A question she didn't answer.

In her mind, she repeated those words; thinking of the promise it held within.

 _Six months._

The promise of confronting the _interesting_ girl known as Ruby Rose.

* * *

 **Author's Notes : Finally…**

 **All the exams are over. It'll take a month before I graduate and get accepted into a high-school…**

 **Wow… That was intense.**

 **Lots of, um… lots of thinking. About things that I don't like. Like the powerhouse of the cell…**

 **I don't like plants.**

 **But, whatever, I did well in maths and literature, so I don't care~!**

 **So now I'm finally free! Yay! Now I can finally focus on writing this again! This is so great! I'm so happy! I miss writing!**

 **Also… Do you guys realize why the title of my chapter has guitar in it?...**

 **Ruby's guitar is called "White Rose"...**

 **And the title is called "The Blossoming Guitar"...**

 **So that means…**

 **The ACTUAL title of the chapter is…**

 **THE BLOSSOMING WHITE ROSE!**

 **Hehe, clever, right?**

 **Also, some of you might be a little confused by Weiss' lack of… "bitchiness".**

 **She acts nothing like the Weiss we saw in the fist volume.**

 **Well, that's because I based everyone off of the third volume.**

 **In that volume, Weiss has learned a lot about not being overly hostile and being a little humble… Sure, she's the Ice Queen, but she won't just "not" like Ruby because Ruby's a kid.**

 **Also, there's no bumping into each other and exploding in this story.**

 **In this story, she's learned a lot as well, but through her band.**

 **Plus, this is a different circumstances. Weiss chose to listen to Ruby before she ever really interact with her.**

 **Also, umm…**

 **I think I might probably change my username maybe…**

 **And it'll be NZ.**

 **I don't know if I'll actually do this or stick with my old username (Clementine), but, um…**

 **Just in case I did change my username, you all still know who I am…**

 **Kay?**

 **So, like always, hope you enjoy this chapter! Be sure to comment down below on what you think of it!**

 **Have a nice day, and goodbye~!**

* * *

 **steelbone532 : Ikr! I am on a roll here! And thanks!**

 **THATANIMOOKID : Yay! Glad you liked this chapter! And Sun just has this 'big brother' vibe around him. Sort of how Yang would go 'killer mode' if someone messes with Ruby.**

 **Z : And, as always, thank you for your review :D**

 **FoxyFoxation : It sure was really fun writing Sun's aggressiveness towards Yang. It sure WILL be REALLY fun when I write Yang in the same room with him.**

 **Glad you think I've handled each element in this story really well, especially the settings of this universe.**

 **RWBYGuy2015 : If you're new to this, then welcome! Hope you have a grand time reading this! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!**

 **PvtBrook : I'm sure your writing is amazing! Don't be discouraged! You should've seen my oldest story… yeesh, ain't that a trainwreck. And thanks for your input for this chapter! Really appreciate it!**

 **Fennec9 : Dude, just… type in "percussion guitar" and that's literally it. But also, thanks!**

 **Adonferrii : Yay! I have a fan! Thanks a lot, dude, for both wanting to be my fan and for your awesome review!**

 **Mattricole : Yes damn fucking cliffhangers xp**

 **Jiore : Thanks for the review. Hope you had a laugh at the Whiterose first real-life encounter.**

 **(Edit) Starburst2879 : Thanks for the save! And yeah, it was a typo. I meant "younger". Weiss is supposed to be 17 in this AU.**


	14. Our Time Apart

**Author's Notes: I see that a lot of you put 2 author's notes in your stories… one before the chapter began, and one after…**

 **I wanna do the same too!**

 **So um, hi guys, it's me! I've been really excited to show this chapter, since this one is a little different from the others. But I'm still sure you'll enjoy it just as much as my other chapters…**

 **Also, I have a good news (maybe even great news) for you guys! But I'll just tell them after the chapter's over, for now, just enjoy~!**

* * *

The door made a creaking sound as the young brunette slowly opened it.

The only reason why she opened it slowly was that she was bored.

She slowly walked into her unlit room; her sluggish feet dragging her slumped body. If someone saw her, they would think she was a zombie… and it wouldn't be far from the truth.

She was dead inside… killed by boredness.

She threw away her bag.

The way the boxy carrier hit her desk, sending her many utilities - ranging from pens to guitar picks - flying away gave her excitement.

… Yet it quickly disappeared at the realization of her having to tidy all of that.

With a large sigh not unlike a dying whale, Ruby unceremoniously flopped down onto the soft, fluffy comforts of her bed.

Usually, she would be tired after a long day at her university.

Usually, she would change into more comfortable clothes in order for her to relax.

Usually, she would enjoy lying down in this bed.

But… she didn't feel all that tired… nor did she even change out of her red t-shirt and black jeans…

She didn't even take her time to enjoy settling down in the familiar sensation of her mattress.

She was too busy being _bored._

Ruby. Was. Bored.

She was so bored the word boredom itself got fired because someone was more bored than it.

And that person was her; Rubored McBored Boringson.

She wanted- no, needed to get un-bored.

To be cleansed from the wicked, foul, and dangerous state of mind and body known as boringness.

Yet how was she supposed to achieve such a feat?

 _C'mon, Ruby, think._

 _What's the opposite of boredom?_

… _Excitement._

 _And what is excitement?_

… _Weiss._

Weiss was excitement.

That was the conclusion that came to the young girl.

The singer always made her excited. Whether it was her voice, her face, her eyes, her scar, her chest; her everything!

 _So, for me to be unbored…_

 _I should call Weiss!_

And so she did.

Now sitting cross-legged, a goofy grin on her face, and one hand crushing her pillow while the other held her phone to her ear, Ruby waited patiently for her now-friend to pick up her call.

It rang once.

Ruby's mind began to wander.

Her first - and only physical - encounter with Weiss… How easily they clicked. How much they relate to each other. How easily they could understand one another.

It felt like such a long time ago…

Yet it wasn't…

Perhaps… she felt this way because of how much things had changed since then.

The phone rang again.

After they exchanged numbers, they only continue to grow closer.

They texted each other on a daily basis.

Ruby simply couldn't get enough of Weiss. And she was certain Weiss felt the same way as well.

Gone were the awkwardness and the nervousness she once experienced as a fan of Weiss Schnee, the singer.

Taking its place were the excitement and randomness that now flooded her body as the friend of Weiss, the girl.

The phone rang for the third time-

" _Ruby?"_ a beautiful, angelic, and familiar voice asked.

A voice Ruby once thought was simply mesmerizing. A voice she now thought was… well, it was still mesmerizing.

Just listening to her calling the girl's name already chase some of the boringness away.

Weiss' voice brought colors to her world and music to the… wind?

Was that how the sayings go?

" _Why did you call? Did something happen?"_ The singer sounded so concerned.

Ruby wanted to laugh and comfort her, telling her everything was fine. But she decided she should have some fun messing with the always-so-serious woman.

"Yeah, Weiss, I… my boyfriend and I-"

" _You have a BOYFRIEND?!"_

Ruby blinked.

"Wait, that's what bothers you?"

" _Of course it is!"_ There was a small pause before she continued in a more hesitant voice. " _I- I just thought…"_

 _Ahh… I see…_

 _Weiss must be embarrassed that she doesn't have a boyfriend yet when she thinks I do!_

"Don't worry, Weiss, I was just kidding."

" _Oh, thank the Dust,"_ there was another, smaller pause, " _I mean, alright. Why did you call, then?"_

"Because I was bored," she stated in a questioning tone.

" _... Is that all?"_

"Yep." The 'p' was, of course, popped.

Weiss suddenly hung up on her. Ruby thought it was odd since she was certain she hadn't said anything wrong.

Seconds later, a _very_ annoyed-sounding Weiss asked, " _What?"_

"Why did you hang up?!" the betrayed brunette asked.

" _Because I have things to do."_ Ruby blinked and cocked her head to the side, wondering what those things were. " _Important things."_ Ruby made an 'eh?' sound. There was a sigh which undoubtedly came from Weiss. " _Things that are more important than talking to you."_

"Like…?" the brunette coaxed.

" _... Fine, what do you want to talk about?"_

Ruby thought her behavior was a little odd. She first said she had things to do, yet when Ruby asked what those things were and why they were more important than her, Weiss suddenly wanted to talk to her again.

 _There are probably no more important things for her to do, then! Why else would she want to talk to me?_

" _Ruby?"_

The girl in mention snapped back to reality.

"O-oh, yeah, I um, I don't know, really," she said, being honest. "I just like hearing your voice."

The heiress hummed; deep in thought.

Ruby didn't know what Weiss was going to talk about, but she knew it'd be good!

After all, they got along so well! They were practically BFFs!

No! More than just BFFs! She didn't know what the term was - it was in the back of her head somewhere… but _what_ , though?

" _Perhaps…"_

Was Weiss going to suggest they talk about music again? Perhaps movies? Ruby wasn't a big fan of the cinema itself, but she was willing to listen to Weiss if she was the one who was talking about it.

" _We should talk about…"_

Heck, Ruby would listen to Weiss even if she was talking about something as boring as shoes!

She would listen to Weiss about anything!

" _Homework."_

She…

Was she serious?

Ruby repeated that question out loud.

" _Of course,"_ was the answer. " _It's very important."_ Ruby didn't say anything yet.

Weiss… wanted to talk about homework. Of all things…

Why wasn't Ruby that surprised?

" _I'm… sorry… is that not what people talk about these days?"_

Weiss sounded so crestfallen; so heartbroken and disappointed, that without thinking, Ruby immediately said, "No, no! Of course! Homework's, like, super important! I totally love it!"

Ruby could not believe she was saying those words.

Those… lies.

Those _horrible_ lies.

But... Weiss was so sad.

Ruby had acted without thinking.

And now… she paid the consequences.

Ruby had to pretend to be interested (when the subject was about homework. Homework!) while listening to the heiress rant about how beneficial homework was for both students and teachers (which was not at all true for the former), and how getting rid of homework would only cause disaster (again. Not true.)

The brunette also had to make a few comments of her own, lest Weiss knew she didn't actually like it.

" _-and what I don't get is why students would complain when they were given more schoolwork. They should be grateful for it!"_

"Yup, totally." No. Definitely not.

" _I believe that the more homework is given, the more we can be successful!"_

"Exactly!" _Hell_ no.

" _And when-"_ There was another voice. It sounded like a woman's voice. Yet it wasn't Blake's. " _Excuse me for a moment, Ruby,"_ Weiss said all of a sudden.

"O-of course," Ruby said, a little taken aback.

There were shuffling and footsteps before Ruby could finally hear Weiss' voice again.

Ruby couldn't hear exactly what they were saying.

But she did catch a few words such as "time" and "perform".

Soon, their voices rose towards panicked yells, which made the young girl nervous.

" _I have to end this call,"_ the heiress suddenly said, her voice now rushed. Ruby heard footsteps, meaning she and this other woman were walking. " _I was supposed to be on stage ten minutes ago! I'm late!"_

"Late?!" Ruby repeated. "For a show?! But Weiss, you're never late! Why could you be late?"

" _Because of of you-..."_

The call ended.

"Me? What does she mean by me?" she asked, more than a little puzzled.

Silence was what answered her.

Sighing, Ruby realized she could only guess why Weiss acted the way she was.

Jaune had once told her people tend to forget things when they were either afraid or they liked someone.

And Weiss certainly wasn't afraid.

 _So… does that mean she has a crush on someone?_

… _Huh… I wonder who that could be._

"Well," she sighed out. "No use thinking about it now."

After all, she would meet the girl herself in person in around four months.

Ruby could always ask Weiss who she was crushing on when the time came.

… _Okay, I'm getting bored again._

Her mind automatically replayed the conversation she just had with Weiss seconds ago… the one about the devilish thing called homework.

 _I take it back… not everything Weiss says is interesting._

 _That… doesn't mean I regret calling her, though._

Even if Ruby had to force herself to pretend to like the thing she despised most…

Listening to Weiss' voice was worth it.

Listening to Weiss was _always_ worth it.

Thinking about homework made her remember about the homework she had yet finished.

"... I am so gonna regret this."

She didn't.

Because she got a perfect A on that homework.

Yup… listening to Weiss was always worth it.

* * *

Weiss sat in the comfort of her own bed.

Only, it wasn't comfortable at all, nor was it her own bed.

The better phrase should be; Weiss sat, already giving up on trying to feel comfortable, in this cheap blob of foams they call a bed.

… She supposed it wasn't that bad.

The schedule explained that they only needed to stay here for one night, unlike usual, which was two or three days.

Her fingers traveled through her neck - massaging where her vocal chords were placed.

It had become a habit of her to do after singing.

Even if only a little, It still soothed her.

But what really gave her a semblance of peacefulness was the once-in-a-life opportunity called peace and quiet.

Blake had run once she heard there was a sequel to one of her favorite novels being sold in this very city. She'd warned them about it and actually bought her phone… unlike last time.

Sun - still not trusting Blake to go anywhere other than the restroom by herself after what happened - chased after her.

And Neptune-

"Snowflake~!"

-was supposed to be going 'live'... Whatever that meant.

She did what should be considered a hobby at this point with how frequent she did it: sigh.

"What is it, Neptune?"

Actually, she didn't want to know what he wanted. Nor did she care. But she was raised to be polite… curse her for being such a good girl!

Judging by his excitable expression, she could already guess that it was not at all important.

And his sparkling eyes suggested the boy had an idea he thought was brilliant; which meant it actually was anything but.

Still, out of generosity and tolerance, the heiress listened half-heartedly as he blabbered on without a single pause.

"So our fans have always wanted to ask you questions, and I kinda already promised them that you'll answer their questions! Sun had done it with me many times- hell, _Blake_ had done it once or twice too! Only you haven't done it! And I think you should because it'd be great! And maybe-"

"Get to the point, Neptune."

The keytarist blinked in shock at how she cut him off but didn't mind at all.

"I want you to answer our fans' questions!"

Slowly, Weiss blinked, turning to look at this boy, wondering about many things.

"What kind of questions?"

His calloused grin told her three things: This wasn't a plan he'd come up with in the spur of a moment, the questions wouldn't be what she'd consider appropriate, and she was in danger. A _big_ danger.

"You'll see!" he cheered, throwing up his arms before he fished in his pocket to grab his phone. "It's something me and our fans-"

"Our fans and I," she automatically replied out of habit.

"Yeah, whatever." Weiss scowled at his lack of care. "We've been discussing it in our previous live," he asked of her. She scooted to the furthest side of the bed to give him room. He plopped down ungraciously - causing her to bounce - and smiled up at her. "C'mon," he said, pointing at his phone. "The audience needs to see you."

The heiress frowned as she weighed the options.

She wasn't wearing anything too informal - just a white long-sleeved nightgown. Also, Neptune was giving her a pleading look that would've been cute if he wasn't grinning.

"... Fine." She cursed herself for being too weak to resist his devious temptations.

After many awkward positions that got either their legs or arms tangled up, Weiss decided for the both of them that they should just do this weird 'live' thing while sitting on the chairs, the phone put on the desk.

He cheerily explained to her how these 'live' things work. Apparently, it worked similar to the one from the TV.

"Okay," he said after it was confirmed that she understood. "And we are going live right… now."

Weiss moved closer to the camera, checking to see if there were people who were watching her live. Surely enough, in a matter of seconds, lots of hearts were spread out as well as lots of comments saying how much he or she loved their work.

"See!" Neptune said. "Those are our fans!"

The heiress' eyes widened a slight bit. She didn't know much about this whole 'live' topic as of now, but she was sure it was the right thing for her to do when she said, "Thank you for your support."

Neptune cleared his throat and said out-loud, "Hello~ fans and girlfriends!"

"Wait a minute," she cut him off. When he looked at her confusedly, she asked scoldingly, "Fans and girlfriends?"

He shrugged innocently.

"Why not? It sounds cool."

Weiss scowled.

"Fans… and _girlfriends_ , Neptune." She made sure to emphasize what was clearly wrong with it.

He, clearly, didn't get it.

"... Would you prefer 'Fans and boyfriends'?" he offered with a shrug-like gesture.

"No!"

"O-hokay," his eyes darted towards his phone. "Hey, look!" He pointed at it. "It's that cool guitar girl from Vale!"

"No, it's not." She deadpanned.

"No, really, it is her! The girl you met two months ago! Just look!" he begged as he frantically pointed towards his phone more shakily.

"Neptune. I am not falling for it." She mentally counted in her head before adding, "And we last met each other three months ago."

"She said something!" His eyes squinted as he looked at his phone more closely. "'Hi again thief'?"

"What?!" She, without hesitation nor guilt, shoved him away. He fell with an 'oof'. Not that she cared.

She looked at his phone and sure enough, the account which had made that comment had Ruby's White Rose on it as the profile picture.

"Ruby? What are _you_ doing here?" she asked the girl indirectly, not even noticing Neptune's groan of pain.

It took a few seconds before the brunette answered - most likely due to connection issues.

 _ **What? Just worried**_

"Really? You're not even going to apologize?" grumbled the keytarist.

She turned to her bandmate, who was rubbing his forehead, scowling.

Weiss' eyes narrowed, considering if she actually should.

But then she realized that she was the _Ice Queen._

"No."

The singer turned to the much more entertaining person to talk to.

"It's late, shouldn't you be studying?"

 _ **Why would I study its not like theres a test**_

 _ **Oh wait**_

 _ **There IS one**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **Ill just wing it**_

Weiss' frown grew deeper. That didn't calm her down at all.

"You'll just 'wing it'?" She pinched the bridge of her nose. How this was the same girl that performed so long ago was beyond her. "What if you fail?"

"Why are you so worried?" Neptune asked, piping in. "I always do that, and look at me!"

Weiss narrowed her eyes.

"I… rest my case."

Neptune's face fell.

It gave her great satisfaction.

Weiss smirked and looked at the commenters, wondering in a small embarrassment of what they thought of her and Neptune's banter.

She was afraid they thought she was impolite and unkind, but her worries were of naught; most of them were merely asking her questions, not even one of the possibly hundreds of people commented on her act.

"Alright, alright," Neptune said whilst shaking his head. "Let's just get to the questions already." He moved his head closer towards his device, wanting to read what his viewers were asking of them. "The first question is," he announced. "How long have you guys known each other?"

They looked at each other on instinct.

"Well," Weiss diverted her eyes back onto the mobile device, trying to explain to the unseen audience. "Nep and Sun have known each other since they were kids, while Weiss and Blake…" The blue-haired boy looked at the shorter girl, unsure of what to say, knowing it was a rather touchy subject to say and how it wasn't his story to tell.

The heiress gave him as well as their viewers a shrug.

"We met two years ago," she said, unhesitantly. "At first, we despised each other because… well… I'm sure you already know. But eventually, we talked things through and learn to respect each other."

Neptune blinked in surprise, but slowly, a smile formed on his face.

"And there you have it," he said for the both of them. "Any other questions?" He waited for a few seconds before reading another question aloud unknowingly.

"'What about your future of being the leader of the SDC?'"

He blinked, and not in just surprise this time. His eyes quickly turned to Weiss, fearing what the girl might say or do.

Pale blue eyes hardened.

Her face was emotionless.

She looked at the boy, who was clearly in shock. He didn't need to say anything, his face already voiced his thoughts; you don't have to do this if you don't want to.

A smile plastered itself on her face.

"It's alright," she said, her tone feathery soft. "They're bound to know someday. Might as well tell them sooner than later." When he only swallowed in an even greater hesitation, she grabbed his much larger hand, squeezing it tightly yet gently.

"I've gotten over it," were her words.

And with those words, he looked away but nodded nonetheless.

Her gaze lingered on him for more than a beat of a second, unspoken sorrow present in those eyes.

She looked back onto her faithful, ever-loving fans. Most of them typed how she didn't have to do this, which she greatly and very deeply appreciated.

One comment, in particular, caught her eyes.

 _ **Don't force yourself**_

It was from none other than Ruby Rose.

The girl who - three months ago - had become her acquaintance.

Perhaps, now… the more fitting term for her would be 'friend'.

There was another text sent by the admirable girl.

 _ **Please**_

Weiss smiled at that. It was… nice to know how much the girl cared for her well-being.

"I won't."

She repositioned herself in her seat. It wasn't a long story to tell, but if she were to tell this story, she wanted to be as comfortable as she could be.

"It's not that bad… now that I looked back on it…" Weiss looked up at the blank white ceiling. The colors reminded her of home…

Or what she once considered home.

"I've always had an affinity for music… My parents both supported me; hired two or three musicians to help develop my skill, to train me. I can play many instruments, but I settled in for singing."

"What started out as a hobby became a passion for me. My father was worried. It wasn't surprising, really. One night, we had an argument about what I wanted in life. He..."

Weiss blinked her eyes open: she was tracing her fingers around her scar.

The action must've been noticed by everyone.

She put her hand down and continued.

"He made me choose. Between being the owner of the richest, most successful companies in the world."

She turned to look at her friend first, smiling. His face was… filled with many emotions. She was sure her own face was as well.

"Or this."

She took a deep breath and asked herself; has it really been a year?

Her phone, surprisingly, buzzed.

 _ **Weiss?**_

 _ **You okay?**_

It was from Ruby.

She found herself smiling yet again.

"I'm fine." Knowing those two simple words, despite how honest they were, wouldn't satisfy anyone - especially Ruby and Neptune, Weiss added, "It was beneficial for both of us. I get to do what I love doing, and… he won't have to worry about me anymore. Whitley will be the better heir, anyway."

She saw as Neptune moved to try and end the stream and stopped him by holding his shoulder, making him stop to look at her.

She made sure to smile sweetly as she looked at the camera, knowing people were watching.

"But everything's alright now. We haven't had the chance to talk of it yet, but soon I won't be an heiress anymore."

Of course, her brother becoming the new heir soon wasn't a lie.

The rest, however…

Neptune wordlessly closed the app, ending the live stream.

Weiss merely saw.

He grabbed her shoulders and looked at her for seconds before embracing her in a hug.

Weiss saw, trying her absolute best not cower from his touch…

Sometimes… it was so hard to ignore the phantom pain… to not relieve those dark moments…

 _He's not hurting me._

"I'm fine, Nep…"

Her voice betrayed what she wished to say.

"I know, but… I still... worry."

… _He's not hurting me._

That was what she continued to remind herself repeatedly.

Her shaky arms extended.

Slowly, she returned the embrace, and let out a relieved sigh when he didn't slap her.

 _He's not hurting me._

Maybe… maybe Weiss could start to believe it.

Finally.

* * *

Three more days.

Three more days until she'd get back to Vale.

Back to where she met Yang.

… It had been six months since they last met each other.

They texted each other almost every day.

From those texts, Blake got a glimpse of what Yang's life was with her absence.

How tough things were getting in her University now that exams week were growing nearer, how her day with her sister and friends had been.

Blake also told her about her experiences.

How successful her concerts were, how fun it was to meet her fans.

And many more things.

They texted each other. Sometimes - though rarely - they would even call each other.

Blake enjoyed every one of those calls.

She enjoyed many things that involved Yang, honestly.

In fact, with the months passing by, her feelings towards the blonde didn't fade away…

They grew.

They grew so much.

Blake didn't even realize it until recently.

 _But… what about Yang? How does she feel?_

That was the question she'd been asking for the past three days now.

She couldn't exactly ask Yang, not through messages, at least.

And she didn't like waiting.

Thankfully, she managed to convince her manager to let her travel towards Vale a day earlier than the other members.

The flight would be going early in the morning, which meant she had time to talk with Yang without any of her team pestering her… that much.

She'd checked her baggage at least three times. She planned on checking it again after she took a quick reading break.

Suddenly, Sun came in…

She looked at him expectedly, but he looked back at her without saying anything.

Thinking he might be here because he was bored, the faunus went back to her reading.

But…

Blake felt Sun's gaze looming over her.

At first, she tried and successfully ignored him by reading her book. But after awhile, it was starting to get on her fur…

"You're really excited to see Yang."

Okay.

 _What the hell?_

Why couldn't he just ask her in the first place?

And why was he asking such a question?

Blake opened her mouth, but he spoke before she could utter a word.

"You'll go to Vale in three days, yet you've already packed." He snorted with his goofy grin. "Even the Ice Queen hasn't done her packing yet!"

The feline girl raised an eyebrow.

"So?"

His face changed into one of disbelieving.

"'So'?" he repeated questioningly. "It means you're _excited_ to go!"

"Of course I'm excited! Yang-"

She stopped. And realized what he'd been doing all along.

His wink only confirmed her theory.

Her face turned redder than both a ruby and a rose.

"You know," he said, casually leaning back further into his seat, his tail swinging in a relaxing manner. "I've had a talk with a certain someone about you and Yang…"

She stiffened but offered no words, intent on listening to him, knowing it would be something dangerous, or stupid, or humiliating…

Or all of those things combined.

"And they seemed like they really wanted to meet Yang…" He looked at her with nothing but mischief. Dangerous mischief. "So…"

"What did you do, Sun?"

It was a demand.

He threw his arms up in surrender, still feigning his act of innocence.

"I just told them to sit on the same plane as you."

Blake was afraid. And for many good reasons.

"Who?"

His only answer was to smile.

"WHO?!"

* * *

 **Author's Notes: So I didn't want the idea of them being separated for "six months" to just… go to waste. Things change in six months, and this is a way for me to show it.**

 **I'll admit, I feel a little nervous about Weiss' part, but I think that, just like Blake's confession, it explains why sometimes she acts a little "odd". I've been planning it since the beginning.**

 **Also, about the good news…**

 **I can FINALLY be able to update my stories WEEKLY!**

 **I am not joking!**

 **Isn't that great!? Well, I mean, somethings can still happen that can delay my chapters from being updated, but other than that, it should be possible for me to do it weekly…**

 **So, that's the chapter. I hope you guys and girls enjoyed it. Tell me what you think about it! I'm genuinely interested in your thoughts, especially with the different way I wrote it… you know, time skips and all. Also about Weiss... my poor precious Weissy... don't worry, though, you have Ruby to cheer you up! As well as Neptune and Sun, of course.**

 **Oh yeah! One last thing...**

 **Can you guys guess what Sun did and "who" s/he is?**

 **Tell you what, let's make a... bet... of some sort.**

 **If any of you can guess who it is that Blake was talking about... I'll... umm... give you a shout-out!... Yeah, sorry, I don't know what else I can give you. And, um, if NONE of you can guess... well, I'll feel very achieved as a writer. So that's that.**

 **But, there is like 200-ish people who read my story, at least A FEW of you should be able to guess it, right? You guys aren't THAT dumb... ;)**

 **Hope you have a nice life, and goodbye~!**


	15. Six Months

**And hello again, boys and girls!**

 **And welcome to the new era of the story!**

 **… Okay, I might've blown it away a little out of portion, but I am still excited!**

 **Because this chapter really does feel like a rebirth of the new story! Not in the way in which everything goes back to normal (God no!) but as if…**

 **Things are limitless now. For me, as a writer, and for them, Team RWBY (though the term doesn't exist in this universe), especially my Bumblebee babies!**

 **Heh… Bumblebee babies… I should use that term more often.**

 **Oh yeah, if you didn't know, I wrote a small story! Yay! It's called "An Impactful Decision", and I'd really like it for you to read it! It's going to end in around 2-3 days, and I believe it's only around 20.000 words or so! It's a full comedy story with the side-dish of ships. And it is a bizarre story.**

 **So, um... maybe you should read it?**

 **... Well, whether or not you chose to read the other story, I certainly hoped you'll love reading this one :)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Professor Ozpin - the person who, basically, owned the entirety of Beacon University - had called Yang, telling her to meet in his office after her classes were over.

That was _all_ he told her.

He didn't tell her any reasons. In fact, he didn't even directly tell her, he had sent a student to tell it to her for him.

It was a rare occasion that students were called by the dean himself…

Most who were called didn't exactly have good reputations, nor did they come out of his office as if something good had happened.

And to say the least… She was very scared.

Her mind raced a million thoughts; did she do something wrong? But… the blonde was sure she hadn't broken any rules. She was sure of it!

Maybe… maybe it was somehow because of her more… trouble-making friends?

But… if they were the guilty one, why was _she_ the one called in?

Hell, she was the only one in his office!

The professor himself _wasn't_ in his own office!

Did… did her friends blamed her for their mischief?

Yang wiped the bead of the sweat of her forehead.

Looking down at her hands, she noticed they were clammy and a little shaky… _Okay, more than 'a little'._

Yang, deciding to distract herself from the thought of being expelled, looked around the dimly-lit room.

Clearly… this man had an affinity for green.

Looking at the pictures spread around media, Professor Ozpin always wore a green vest. Even the few rare times she saw him in real life, the man always wore some kind of green clothing.

Turns out, he didn't only wear green, but he lived green.

 _Seriously._

Seaweed green walls. Minty green floor. Tea green borders for his green-themed pictures of… was… were those _puppies?_

Did the man seriously put pictures of puppies in his workplace-

The door opened.

Yang flinched, even if she was innocent.

"Ah, Miss Long," a deep voice spoke. It was calm, yet deep of unquestionable authority. Yang found herself unable to process his words until much later. "I'm sorry for being late, these coffee machines take quite some time to… fill my cup."

The blonde willed herself to turn her head, looking at the man himself.

He… didn't look mad.

In fact, judging by the small thin smile plastered on his face, he seemed… pleased(?)

"I apologize," he ended, raising his mug with an almost sheepish smile on his face.

It took two blinks for Yang to realize the man was waiting for her to answer him in some kind of way.

"O-oh, no problem," she said, forcing herself to wear a wide, relaxed grin despite her frightened heart, waving her stiff hand to appear much more at ease than she actually was.

There was a glimmer of an unidentifiable emotion in his eyes.

"All right."

He walked through her to sit in his weird-looking desk, but not before putting his glass safely first.

She smelled Ristretto.

… He had a good taste.

"So, Miss Long," he started, tucking his chin above his palms, his gaze right into her own. He had this aura around him that made him appear older than he actually was. It both amazed and freaked her out. "First of all, I'd like to say that you are in no trouble at all."

… _Thank fucking Dust_ was what she truly wanted to say, but realizing how inappropriate that sounded during where she currently was and who she currently was speaking with, she settled in for a simple, "That's... very good to hear."

He gave her a nod and polite smile. She supposed it was his way of telling her there was no need to worry.

"I'm here to give you an offer."

Yang blinked and shifted in her seat.

This man was known for his qualities; those that were considered good.

He was generous. He was humble. He was kind.

But... that didn't mean she was willing to agree with everything he said.

She didn't trust him. Not yet, at least.

And the way he looked at her - as if he knew all of her deepest, most buried secrets - didn't help at all either.

"What... kind of offer?"

Again, he smiled that smile. One that was gentle, soft, but... flimsy at the same time. The smile that held more than one meaning; that had more than one purpose.

He drummed his desk with his fingers, his other hand still holding his mug.

"An offer to work as a manager for a place which belonged to a... certain friend of mine."

His smile altered into one of... self-enjoyment. It didn't ease the young girl's nerves in any way. In fact, it might've unnerved her if not for his words.

He was... offering her a work... and not just any work.

 _A manager._

Of all things.

That was... To say the least, it was a special offer. A very special one, indeed. But, would she get paid?

"You will be paid, fully and fairly: it's a good offer if I do say so myself."

Oh, now that was just perfect.

And he was wrong about it being a good offer.

This was the best offer ever given to her!

"You can start next semester."

At the mention of 'semester', Yang began to think more realistically, more grounded.

There was still the issue of her education, being a student of this academy.

And she hadn't even begun to wonder about her family; what would her sister think? More importantly, what about her father? Would he approve?

"But... what about...?"

Yang couldn't finish her sentence. Her mind was thinking too many things that could go wrong that it rendered her unable to form coherent words.

This was a great deal, and she really wanted to accept his offer.

But she couldn't.

Not so suddenly.

Fortunately for her, the professor seemed to understand her dilemma.

He took a sip at his no doubt lukewarm coffee. He opened his drawer while saying, "You can still study here if you'd like." He pulled out a sheet of papers filed in a case from it and slide it towards her. He looked at her before nodding at those sheets. "Those contain all of the information you need to know about the offer."

She swallowed before opening the case. Her calculating purple eyes scanned each and every word, absorbing every bit of information, knowing this should never be taken lightly.

Her eyes became wider and wider with each beat of a second.

Ozpin, however, couldn't see her face and therefore was unaware of her growing shock, continuing on with his words.

"Perhaps we can make some sort of arrangements concerning your assignments if that were to-"

"Yes! Sir- I mean, Professor, yes! I'd love to!" Her eyes were still glued to the paper. It wasn't until she looked at him did she continue, an enthusiastic grin present on her face. "This is perfect!"

Her smile wavered at his frown.

"Though I am happy to see your enthusiasm," he eventually said, his voice lower in tone and spoken more slowly. That - and many more - told Yang he was unpleased by her demeanor. "I advise you to please be careful of what you said." Lilac eyes widened in realization of the truthfulness of his words. "This is not a small decision you can easily make. This may or may not change your life."

She nodded. Internally, she regained her bearings.

"Yes. Of course," she said, her voice, now that she was more stern, raspy.

He took a silent, small sip from his mug.

"The offer doesn't end until the finals of this semester."

Understanding what he meant, Yang answered in affirmative, "Got it, Sir."

He set aside his cup and looked at her again. That glint in his eyes returned, only now, it appeared as though he wasn't trying to conceal it.

"Now, from what I've heard," he said, his tone light-hearted as he gave her a thin-lined smile. "You're expecting to see _someone_ today."

 _Yeah, now that I think about it..._

 _Aren't I supposed to be at the airport?_

 _Blake's supposed to arrive at three._

 _Oh... Blake. Yeah._

 _Can't believe it's been six-_

 _Wait. I'm supposed to pick her up._

 _... WHAT TIME IS IT?!_

Hurriedly, she fished in her pockets to grab her phone.

She realized, with her paling face, that it was two fifty.

She jumped from her seat.

" Shi- I mean, shoot! Blake!"

Yang heard a chuckle coming from the professor but didn't have time other than to acknowledge it at the moment.

The blonde ran across the hall, cursing at herself for how late she was.

And for an important day nonetheless!

How could she have forgotten?!

Was it the stress of being called by Ozpin?! Was it his offer?!

Was it _both?!_

She ran.

She ran as if she'd just found out Ruby was pregnant.

She didn't stop to think of where she was going. Nor did she ever wonder where she was going currently.

All she thought of was Blake.

The girl who'd kissed her so long ago.

The girl whose kiss she couldn't and wouldn't forget.

She still remembered it all. Very vividly.

The dark sky.

The quiet, echoing building.

Blake...

* * *

When Yang first saw her that night, she thought of how absolutely beautiful she looked.

Her tresses of raven hair flew freely. Some around her neck. Some across her face.

Her clothes were loose, and it... revealed... certain parts of Blake Yang was certain not many could have the great pleasure of seeing.

But... those weren't as important as her face.

The lighting of the dim sky hit her at just the right angle, causing her face to appear as if she was glowing.

Blake's face was crystal clear.

Yang found herself gawking at that face for too long to be considered normal.

For her many heartbeats...

Yang found herself questioning if this was her reality.

She... She thought this was all a dream. That everything from the day she'd met Blake was a dream - a figment of her imagination.

Because, well...

How was it possible that someone like her could meet a girl as amazing as Blake?

How was it possible that Blake had actually wanted to talk to her.

How was it possible that Blake had willingly hung out with her.

How was it possible... That someone as amazing as Blake Belladonna could _exist?_

And someone like Yang could get so close to her...

It was... scary.

Yang feared this was all just a dream.

A wonderful, blissful dream.

She feared... she would wake up in a world where Blake never met her.

No...

Yang feared... she would wake up in a world where there _was_ no Blake Belladonna.

Now, that wouldn't be a reality.

That would be a nightmare.

Yet even now, Yang found herself doubting Blake's existence, even if the girl really was there, or if her mind had decided to play cruel tricks with her.

But how could that be possible? Blake was right there.

Those gold eyes were too beautiful not to be true.

Yet... yet...

Blake's mouth moved.

Had she been talking?

Had Yang been talking as well?

She... didn't realize.

Swallowing, Yang tried her best to be her normal self.

But, during all of that interaction...

A small part of Yang wondered if everything was a dream.

She knew it was irrational. That there was no way a dream could be this realistic. That there was no way she could see, hear, and feel this amount of things if it was a dream.

But... that small part feared. It worried.

... Until Blake proved it otherwise.

By kissing her.

* * *

Yang couldn't believe it had been six months.

It felt like all of that happened yesterday...

No...

Yesterday was too long.

It felt like it all happened seconds ago.

The kiss... fueled her. It fueled her with determination. With fury. With hope. With... just about everything that kept her going.

It had been fueling her for the past six months.

And... the promise...

That was... _wow..._

At first, Yang was disappointed at the promise. Back then, she'd agreed to it because a part of her knew there was no other way.

She'd tried to make the most of their night that night.

And... judging by the number of times Blake laughed, snickered, and or chuckled...

It was safe to say Blake had the most fun.

She'd certainly had some fun too.

But now... she realized how important that promise was.

They both needed to make sure that what they felt towards each other was not just... a silly crush.

They needed more time to see if their feelings towards the other would go away; Blake much more than Yang.

Yang knew her feelings for Blake won't go away.

After all, she'd had those feelings for well over five months, adding another six won't change a thing.

But, for Blake... it was different.

She'd just met Yang.

She'd just start to hang out with her.

And she'd just found out about her feelings.

It all happened too quickly.

It was... dangerous for her to act on her impulses - her feelings - so quickly.

Perhaps the better word for it was 'stupid'.

Back then... Yang had acted on impulses as well.

She didn't really think of how long 'six months' were.

She was just... happy that she could see Blake again.

That this wouldn't be the last time they saw each other.

But that was then. This was now.

Now Yang had realized the importance of that promise.

 _So... I still like her, but..._

 _What about her?_

Yang halted in her steps.

Her breathing was labored. Sweat was embedded in her skin and clothing. Her hair was a mess. And her shoulders were hunched.

She looked around.

Was she... still on campus?

"Wait... where's the airport?"

"The opposite direction," someone answered. Yang didn't care to look at that person, nor to thank them for their answer.

She was too busy checking the time.

It was ten past three.

She. Was. _Late._

And this time, it wasn't a fucking exaggeration!

She ran, and this time, actually took some liberty of time to think of where she would go.

Fortunately, for once, Remnant wasn't so cruel to her.

It took her about ten minutes to run to the airport.

... She learned a very important lesson that day; how much people were shocked to see a blonde college girl running around in panic.

Apparently, many.

She arrived at the airport in a... bad state. A very bad state.

Her bag was hanging and dangling loosely around her shoulder, seconds away from falling.

The bun she kept on her hair now loose, she might as well untie it.

Her clothing and body made herself appear as if someone had thrown her into a pool.

Yang looked at herself in the mirror and shook her head.

"No, no... she..." A pant. "She can't see me like this, we..." Another pant. "It's gotta be special..."

The blonde forced herself to go to a clothing store closest to her.

Normally, she would've been embarrassed with how much people were looking at her as if she was crazy...

But she was too damn tired.

Without even inspecting the clothes too much, Yang bought it and went to the restroom to freshen herself up as best she could before changing her clothes.

When she walked out of the stall did she notice how... inappropriate her choice of her t-shirt was.

At first glance, it seemed okay.

It was black-colored and it had a text in white saying 'treat me right'.

But... what concerned her was how a few words of it was highlighted in yellow... preferably, the 'eat me' part from 'treat me right'.

"Great... just... great."

Yang was sure Blake wouldn't mind _that_ much.

In fact, the blonde could just pass it off as some kind of joke. Though, of course, she knew this was a little inappropriate for both her and the noirette's taste.

She would've used her previous clothing if it wasn't soaking wet. And it wasn't as if she had time for either buying new clothes or drying up the old ones; time wasn't waiting for her...

But Blake was.

The blonde looked at what she saw in the mirror (a very hot young blonde) and rested her hands on the counter, her posture hunching slightly as she moved closer to the glass panel.

"Okay, Xiao Long," she said. "It's been six months. You gotta make a good impression on her." Briefly, her eyes glanced down towards the less-than-appropriate clothing she'd accidentally bought. "She won't worry about _this_ if she's too busy focusing on _you_."

She took a step back, straightening herself up.

Her breathing was still a little fast for practically running a marathon. Her skin felt a little stickier than usual. Her hair - no matter how much she tried to tame it - still spiked all over herself.

Yang grunted before deciding she should just tie it into a bun.

The blonde took one last glance in the mirror.

"... Good enough."

With that, she left; still afraid of everything that could go wrong, but willed herself to be brave enough.

After all, this was only Blake...

 _What could go wrong?_

... A few minutes later, she found herself at the gates where she knew Blake would be.

She'd double-checked. It was what Blake had told her through the text. This was the right gate.

There were lots of people already. The place was crowded. It was hard for Yang to stand still because someone always bumped into her every five seconds.

The blonde texted Blake; asking where she was.

Another person bumped into her, causing her bag to fall. In a rush, she quickly grabbed it lest someone else did.

"Dust..." she muttered, wondering why it was so crowded.

Her phone buzzed, indicating Blake - or, at least someone - had sent her a message.

 _ **At the exit**_

 _ **Yang**_

 _ **There's something I want to tell u...**_

Yang quickly set her phone aside when someone bumped into her again, feeling it would be best if she put it in her pockets.

If there was something Blake wanted to tell her, she should just do it in person.

Yang squirmed her way through the busy crowds, not slowing down until she found any familiar pair of cat ears or black wavy hair.

When she did, everything but her stopped.

Yang didn't care how many people she bumped into, she didn't even say any apologies.

She just ran towards the girl she'd missed so much.

Towards the girl who'd kissed her in such an... indescribable way.

Yang's heart beat stronger as she got closer.

Her smile grew bigger when the girl's features became clearer.

Her worries disappeared when amber eyes locked into her own.

In one swift motion, lasting less than a second, Yang embraced Blake.

Her lips tasted a hint of blueberry when she did so.

"I missed you so much!"

She felt gentle, thin arms wrapping around her waist.

That was more than enough for Yang to know what Blake thought.

Maybe it only had been seconds. Maybe ten minutes had passed, and she was just too caught up in the moment to notice.

But eventually, Blake softly pulled away from Yang's embrace.

When Yang looked at her, she found many mixtures of emotions: Relief, longing, joy...

But there were a few more which worried her: apprehension, hesitance...

"Yang..."

Blake's voice...

Yang would've relished in how soothing it sounded if not for her tone.

That was when she realized...

There was someone behind Blake; someone Yang had met before. Once.

And someone she knew must be _very_ close to Blake.

"This is-"

"Goodwitch," Yang breathed.

The woman in question was looking at her with judgemental eyes.

 _It's... it's alright,_ she thought, trying to comfort herself. _So she's here, that's no problem, it's not like I did something wrong..._

Though what worried Yang further wasn't how she was looking at her, it was which part of her body she was looking at.

Yang didn't have time to wrack her brain about why the woman was looking at her shirt when the older blonde said:

"Nice shirt."

It wasn't meant to be a compliment.

If the tone didn't give it away, the woman's face - which screamed the definition of disgust - did.

She and the older blonde had only seen each other for _less then ten seconds_ , and yet...

"Miss Goodwitch here would like to... get to know you after my teammates told me about you... She wants to join us for our dinner."

Oh.

 _... Well..._

 _I'm fucked._

* * *

 **And, oh yeah, no one won the bet. And I am a little surprised.**

 **I've brought in Glynda ever since the beginning of the story, and planned on doing great things with her. Of course, in the end, RWBY will still be the main focus of this story, but they're not the entire cast of my story.**

 **I thought at least one of you would've guessed it. But nope. Everyone thought it was either Kali, Ghira, or Illia. Yaiks. I guess it is understandable, though…**

 **Oh! And you people will love the title for the next chapter…**

 **Wait for it…**

 **…**

 **Meet the Manager!**

 **Heh… get it? Get it?**

 **Oy, c'mon now, that's pretty clever!**

 **So, um, yeah! This chapter is a little short, but I feel like it delivers its purpose well. We get to see more of Yang, there's a little bit of background on her university life, we get to see her panicking in a very relatable way, and that cliffhanger ending is just… golden.**

 **… So… um… See you all next week!**

* * *

 **literally nobody: Thanks for the save, nobody! That was actually kind of important… yet I messed it up. So no, you're not wrong. I am. So, again, thanks! :3**

 **Guest: The pill thing will play a role, but not so soon… so you don't have to be anxious… yet :-)**

 **Glare-TLock: One of my pet peeves is when fanfictions completely change the characters from who they are in cannon. So it really is glad for me to read your comment :D**

 **Nagaichi: Glad you think this story is awesome! :)**

 **Gunnar Kykrjebo: Aww, thanks for the sweet comment! Happy to know how much you love my story! I hope this chapter doesn't dissapoint you :D**

 **ThePurpleZoroark: Your guess is wrong! But… still, good guess! :)**

 **Z: Lol, believe me, the feeling is mutual! XD**

 **Jiore: Wrong guess… as for the Weiss part, yes, she still maintains contact with Winter, but that won't be explored in this story… at least, for now ;)**

 **Adonferrii: Thank you as well! White Rose will sail, but be patient~ because romance can't just "happen" so quickly, unlike attraction. It's two different things :3**

 **THATANIMOKID: Glad to think you like the previous chapter, and the one before that… seriously, thanks for all of your comments! I really appreciate it! :)**

 **yurippe15: … Good guess? :T**

 **PvtBrook: Your guess is wrong! And there's nothing to be ashamed about! Because everyone else guessed wrong too! XD Admittedly, I was a little anxious at the Weiss part, I didn't know how I would handle her entire backstory, so in the end, I wrote what I felt was right and hoped it would be enough… turns out, I think it is!**


	16. Meet the Manager

**Hello gents and lads, it is I, Clementine Davidson (even though that clearly is too cool to be my _actual_ name), creator of the not-so-famous Fans and Girlfriends, here with another chapter~!**

 **One thing I'm uncertain about when it comes to uploading is the different timezones. So, maybe in my country today is Tuesday, but in yours, it's either still Monday and Wednesday... And... At first, I want to adjust myself to the US timezone since that's where most of you seem to come from, but after awhile, it gets a little confusing so I decided "Eh, fuck it, it's Tuesday in my country so it's Tuesday no matter what."**

 **So, for you, this is either an early update... or a late one... or both... I don't know how time zones work...**

 **Another reason for this early/late update is because I just moved to a new house and there are still lots of things to unpack. It's better for me to post this now because I'm quite sure I'll be busy later on.**

 **Either way, I hope you enjoy the chapter! This is a very, very fun chapter for me to write! And there's something important in this chapter too.**

 **Oh yeah! I also changed the summary (just in case you haven't noticed) into something a little less... mysterious. It also fits more well with the theme of the story! Honestly, I didn't really like the former summary. It feels a little too... "poetic"... which is... well... have you read my writing? It's many things! But poetic _isn't_ one of them!**

 **Of course, I didn't make this all by myself... it is all thanks to...**

 **THE MIGHTY _KARVOST!_ *insert fire emoji* *insert balloons emoji* The great and powerful! The one and only! The... um... yeah, he and I worked on the summary together, though Karvost was the one who ended up doing most of the work XD Thanks a lot for helping me, Os~! Be sure to check out his story! Because it is awesome! Not as awesome as my story, though! (Sorry, Os, but it's true!)**

* * *

Four days ago, Blake wanted - no, _expected_ \- the reunion between Yang and herself to include many things.

Laughter, of having to be separated for so long despite knowing how they have feelings for one another. Knowing that their feelings towards the other were reciprocated.

Tears - the noirette didn't expect this to happen much, if at all, and even so, she had a suspicion it won't be one of sadness. Rather, it would be from being glad that they were finally, finally being reunited.

Heartfelt words, either one of how much they missed each other, or how much they'd changed - anything, really.

... She and Yang had made a plan four days ago. A plan to celebrate the prospect of being with each other once more, even if, officially, they still were nothing more than just friends - close friends, perhaps?

They would go to the familiar place of Adel's restaurant, the restaurant Yang had taken her all those months ago (After they'd dealt with checking into Blake's room and putting her luggage there, of course), and they would simply... talk.

... That was four days ago.

That was before that _stupid_ monkey boy telling her that her precious plan had been ruined...

And while the majority of their plan was executed, such as dealing with Blake's things and - even now, they were on the restaurant...

But with the addition of Glynda Goodwitch, sitting on the opposite chair, looking at her and Yang - who chose to sit closer to the other - judgmentally.

... Yup. She was going to _strangle_ Sun for this.

"Miss Xiao Long..."

The blonde woman was using a tone which reminded the faunus of a teacher who was about to give a student a trick question - a question meant for that student to be laughed at by the entire class.

Even after already hearing it countless times, and even if it wasn't directed at her, Blake still wasn't used to it and flinched from that tone.

She could only imagine what Yang must be going through right now...

After hearing her name being mentioned, the girl in question probably felt it was wise - and not to mention sound like a businesslike person - to, in response, say, "Yes, Miss Goodwitch?"

The poor girl was trying her best to look... calm and level-headed, for lack of a better term.

Her posture was akin to that of a business man's; looking straighter and broader than she actually was. Her mouth was a thin line. Her jaw was clenched so tightly Blake wondered if it hurt.

At first glance, Yang did seem like she was handling this whole ordeal perfectly.

But, then again, Blake was never the type of person who would only 'glance' at things, especially if the 'thing' was Yang.

And she more than just guessed the blonde girl was anxious based on many things.

Her fingers intertwining with each other, fidgeting.

Her face, pale.

Her eyes, continuously darting around the table, unwanting to meet either the musician or her manager's gaze.

Blake's eyes wandered back to the older, unscared blonde.

"You studied at Beacon University. That is not an easy feat. I also hear Miss Rose, your sister, was accepted as well, despite being two years early."

Said eyes widened. Was it true?

Blake herself didn't know that. The only thing Yang ever told her when it came to her 'precious one and only cute baby sister' was times where she was, to Yang, acting cute. Meaning always.

Then again, she didn't know much about Yang...

 _Yet. And you're going to,_ she reminded herself. After all, it was the very reason why she came to this place again - well, that, and many more.

"Y-yeah," the blonde said, her hands losing their grip on each other. "Ruby's always been a genius, so I'm not that surprised."

Yang was clearly... scared.

It was understandable, of course.

Especially since she'd made a bad first impression with the choice of clothing she wore.

While Blake herself found it extremely funny, the two young girls knew the elder didn't find it that way in the slightest.

 _Ugh... I should've warned Yang earlier..._ she thought to herself.

But it wasn't as if she'd known the plan back then. Sun wouldn't tell her a thing, he wouldn't budge even after she'd bribed him with bananas - it was a little... discriminating, but desperate times called for desperate measures!

The others were no better too.

She could understand how the monkey faunus made Neptune stay quiet. They knew each other more than anyone else ever would, it was no surprise Sun could make the blue-haired boy zip his mouth.

It was _Weiss_ that Blake was concerned about!

"I wonder what Oz sees in you," Glynda commented.

Amber eyes tore back to the student, and surely enough, Yang became much more tense, if that were even possible.

Her shoulders rose. Her jaw loosened. Her eyes displayed a look of shock and confusion.

"You know the headmaster?"

Glynda, who'd been playing with her phone, gave her a short, unforgiving glance.

"That is not of your concerns."

 _... Forget STRANGLING him, I am SO going to kill Sun for thinking THIS is a good idea._

The young blonde muttered an apology. If the manager heard it, she certainly didn't care enough to acknowledge it.

"You," Glynda started in that tone again, "have the intentions of dating my Blake. I am simply here to make sure this isn't what kids these days call a 'fling'."

"F-fling...?" Yang repeated, just as dumbfounded as Blake.

Glynda nodded, choosing not to continue on with her words and not comment on both of their astonished faces.

"Yes. Let's start with the basics; how long have you two known each other?"

"Oh, we've texted each other for, like, months," was the blonde's relaxed answer.

Emerald eyes locked themselves with her pair of ambers.

Blake knew that look.

It was the same look Glynda always gave to Sun and Neptune whenever they were about to be punished.

Glynda looked away from her, only to give the now-scared Yang a glare.

"I asked how long have you two known each other, as in meeting one another in real life."

Okay. This had gone for long enough.

Blake _must_ intervene!

"Well, Miss Goodwitch-" she began to say in a biting tone, fully prepared to get into an argument with her manager - a feat that she'd never accomplished before - if it meant saving Yang from... this.

"Less than five days," Goodwitch said, her tone colder than Weiss' entire being and scarier than any haunted house.

 _... Or maybe I should just let Yang handle this by herself._

Blake retreated back to simply sulking in her seat, letting Glynda and Yang deal with this by themselves.

After all, she could - sort of - see why Sun asked Glynda to come.

It was to see what Yang was willing to go through to be with her.

... Admittedly, the fact was gruesome, grim, and a little primitive.

But even so, if Blake and Yang were to be official...

Glynda needed to know.

She deserved it.

Plus, as much as Blake loved Yang, she wasn't going to be involved too much when it came to Goodwitch's wrath - she wasn't insane, after all.

Yang was on her own...

Blake opened her phone when it buzzed.

Glynda had messaged her. _When did she even...?_

 _ **Give Yang and I 5 minutes to talk privately or else you won't ever have any alone time with this girl again.**_

It was simple.

It was direct.

... It was also a threat.

It was... as Sun and Neptune once put it, "So _Goodwitch._ "

She could even hear the boys' voices echoing in her mind right now, chuckling and giggling at how much pain Yang was in... those brats.

Hell, she could even picture Weiss smirking down, wordlessly, yet giving off the vibe that she, out of everyone else, was the one who most enjoyed the young blonde's torments.

"You've met her for less than five days, yet you've claimed you loved Blake."

Blake was glad the food and drinks hadn't arrived yet.

Because if she were drinking, she would've spit it out.

"L-love?" the feline girl echoed, her extra pair of ears flattening, her cheeks reddening.

She looked back and forth between the two blondes.

The older, more cynical one, didn't leave her sight from Yang.

She didn't seem to care much about the words she'd just said, nor the reaction her words caused.

If anything, the tone of voice she'd used while using the word 'love' was not unlike that of offhandedness, like how someone would tell the time.

... Blake was both furious _and_ impressed with that fact.

While the faunus still needed time to gain her composure again, the blonde was far calmer than she was, which was even more surprising.

"With all due respect, Miss Goodwitch," she said, ducking her head a little, "though we did technically meet one another for no more than five days, as you say, we've known each other for far longer than that." She paused for but a moment. "And after Blake left, we still texted each other on an almost daily basis."

Blake was... well, shocked by either Yang's bravery or stupidity; she didn't know what it was.

Almost no one would ever defy Glynda, let alone talk back to her, defy her statements.

Blake guessed it was because of the... sense of authoritativeness the woman carried, the aura of menacingness and control.

The only other people who'd ever come close to talking back to Glynda were Sun and Neptune, and even then all they did was ask her for an extra hour for their performance.

For Yang to not only completely defy her statements but to actually provide the reasons of her wrongness that actually made sense was...

"And that concludes...?" It was Glynda who'd said that.

Blake looked at the other woman - _really_ looked - and could very well see how surprised she was as well.

Her brow was raised. Her posture leaning towards the young blonde just a little. Her thin-lined mouth was curled upwards.

"That," the student began, her resolve steeled. "You're wrong to assume I've known Blake for less than five days, and vice versa."

Glynda's smile widened for a fraction of a second, before it completely disappeared, her face hardening into an uncaring expression.

"Yet I never said the word 'known'... I only said 'met'."

Blake opened her mouth, wanting to talk about the many reasons as to why when someone messaged her on her phone.

 _ **Blake, leave.**_

It was Glynda.

Just as she was about to put it down, another message appeared again.

 _ **Blake, I know shes telling you to leave, so just do it, this is between me and her**_

... It was Yang.

Blake looked up from her phone, making sure to put the best glare on her face.

Yang looked somewhat sheepish, while Glynda was merely perplexed.

"Seriously, guys? If you want to tell me to leave, just tell me to leave!"

With that, she was out, ignoring Yang's "sorry!" and Glynda's "no regrets".

 _Ugh... blondes... Why do they have to make things so stupidly complicated!_

* * *

Yang watched as the woman she'd harbored feelings for left, the way she walked more than telling of how furious she was.

 _Damn... I'm gonna have to make it up to her..._

But that a matter she would deal with later.

She had another matter to deal with now.

A matter in the form of a cold, ruthless, scary-looking manager.

Yeah...

 _Fuck._

"Why do you want to date Blake?"

Yang blinked up to see those piercing emerald eyes.

Sure enough, they were unreadable for her.

The young blonde wracked her head, trying to find any simple yet genuine reason as to why she wanted to accomplish such a feat.

But she found none.

Because there was no simple way she could explain it. None at all.

"I... think you know why" was what she settled to use.

There was a flicker of something in the manager's eyes. It appeared for a moment before it was gone - short enough time for Yang to not be able to see it more clearly.

Then, she said, "I don't, actually."

 _... Great._

Well, Yang supposedly thought, it has to happen one way or another, or else they'll think I'm just using her to get fame or something.

"You're... really gonna make me say it..." she first told (to herself more than the manager). Glynda nodded, never faltering in any way.

"Because she's the only person I feel is... right to date."

It was the most honest answer she could give.

When she looked up at the older blonde, she wasn't surprised to see Goodwitch's raised eyebrow.

She'd been expecting it, in fact.

"Out of everyone else, she stood out. I don't really know what makes her stood out, I only know that for me... she just does."

Memories appear, of an empty, dimly lit hallway.

Of being more than just nervous when she finally could see the noirette for the first time.

"When we first met, she was super kind to me."

That was an understatement.

Blake was... many things.

She was understanding, not minding Yang's nervousness when they had their first encounter.

She was humble, never belittling Yang despite being leagues apart.

She was polite, talking very slowly and choosing her words carefully, afraid of saying something that might offend the blonde in some way.

Yang swallowed before admitting not so honorably, "At first, I'll admit, I like her because of her looks."

But... if she was being honest... who wouldn't?

Blake just had this very... 'alien' type of beauty in her.

It was what first drawn Yang into Blake.

She was willing to bet it was what drove many to her as well.

But over time, curiosity got the better of her. She started to learn more and more about who Blake was, and realize she was more than just her beauty.

"The more I watched her, the more I realize Blake is more than just her looks."

Yang paused, searching deep into her small, honest heart for what she was about to say next.

"Blake is... Blake. Not just a beautiful girl. Not just a bass-player. Sure, she is all of those things, but she's also so much _more._ "

She felt satisfied after she'd let all of that out.

In fact, she also felt... _braver,_ in a sense.

Maybe it was because all this time she thought she was somehow guilty of wanting to be with Blake... for being selfish to only want Blake because of her looks and fame.

But now that she'd stated it out-loud, Yang realized how ridiculous she was being.

She wasn't petty and heartless enough to only want to be with Blake for those things.

She wouldn't let herself become like that.

"As for Blake?"

Yang pulled herself away from her thoughts, realizing how all the things she'd said out loud was being heard by another human being.

"Huh?" she asked, not quite catching the manager's words.

"Why do you think she wants to date you?"

Seconds ago, she would've stuttered and fumbled over her words, but... after her... confession, for a lack of a better term, she didn't feel the slightest bit of fear.

Yang felt as if she could take on anything the world would throw at her.

So, with that in mind, she gave the older woman a very 'Yang Xiao Long' grin.

"I... honestly, I don't know." She shrugged, not minding how perplexed the other woman looked. "I know she's not trying to hurt me, though," she confirmed, her smile softening, "I also know she's not doing it for my look. I... I trust her."

"Do you not feel guilty? You and Blake live in different worlds. What if she abandons her future for you?"

Once, she was. But not anymore.

"Do you really think I'm the kind of person who would let that happen?" Yang really enjoyed how her answer threw the woman off-guard. Her eyes widened so much that a small part of her feared she would hurt herself. "I'm not a fool, Miss Goodwitch. I care about Blake too much to let her make bad decisions, especially if they're for me."

She took a small moment to re-gather herself and to really note how shocked the other woman looked.

She then smiled.

"Blake isn't stupid either. I doubt she'll make a bad decision in general. She's... wise way beyond her years." Yang ended her statement with a non-arrogant chuckle.

"... You two live in different worlds."

That sentence ignited something within her.

Something that hadn't been awoken for a very long time.

Something that made her who she was.

Sometimes... Yang forgot who she was.

She forgot what she herself was capable of.

She had forgotten for a very long time.

But not for long.

She was _Yang Xiao Long._

And her fire had begun to _flicker._

It won't be long until it caused mayhem - the good kind.

Yang found herself grinning in a way that felt _right._

"Yeah? Well, I don't plan on sticking with my old one forever. I have plans for my own future. Just you wait, I'm gonna be so damn awesome I'll be the rightest choice for Blake's partner."

It was cocky for her to say those things.

For her to be so sure of something so unpredictable known as the future.

But damn it, she was Yang Xiao Long.

And she wasn't about to let anyone or anything stop her from-

"Oh? And what might those be?"

 _... Heh_. Hopefully, she would find out.

* * *

Blake felt it was time to return once she saw that their food and drinks were being carried to their table.

Once she was close by, she found an oddly peculiar sight. A sight of Yang grinning a smile which shined confidence - it... tugged the noirette's heart in a good way, and Glynda Goodwitch actually appearing rather surprised.

Now, seeing Yang smile that way wasn't what made the sight peculiar, even if Blake had only seen glimpses of that smile once or twice, and even then it was merely hints.

What made it peculiar was the fact that Glynda looked openly shocked.

Her manager was always so calm, so level-headed, never letting anyone catch a drop of how she felt.

She was guarded, and that was what made her a good manager in many aspects.

So... for Glynda to not be able to contain her emotion like that...

To put it simply, Blake wondered what the hell they were talking about.

"It's a surprise." That was what Blake first heard upon closing in on them.

"What's a surprise?" Blake couldn't help but ask. It was that, and many more which the faunus wanted to know of regarding the two blondes and their discussion.

"A surprise that Yang is not dumb," Glynda swiftly answered, re-adjusting her glasses as her face hardened into that of the familiar poker face.

Yang gaped and said a little too loudly, "W-what?! I go to Beacon! Doesn't that prove _something?!_ "

"From what I've heard, a boy going by the name of Jaune Arc also goes there."

Both Yang and Blake visibly cringed at the thought.

"... Point taken," the young blonde agreed while nodding not-so-gladly. "But still!"

Blake was massaging her temples, trying to figure out a way to defuse this silly argument.

Amber eyes brightened when the opportunity came.

"Look, guys, the food's here, could we please talk about it later?" _Or never,_ Blake thought but chose not to say for safety reasons.

Thankfully for her sanity, the two blondes agreed with her decision upon seeing the arrival of the delicious-smelling and much more delicious-tasting food.

They ate mostly in silence, with Blake occasionally stealing glances at Yang.

It didn't really occur to her how much the blonde had changed... until now.

Sure, her physical appearance stayed relatively the same, perhaps she'd grown taller, but that was about it.

Her change in behavior, however...

Blake couldn't really place it - what had changed, that was - but something had changed...

And it wasn't a particularly bad change.

There was something different about Yang...

She just looked more... alive... and brighter.

Yang looked more... herself.

Blake really _liked_ that.

Of course, she'd always liked Yang, even from before. But now, she was... drawn to her.

Yet Blake didn't have time to mull over it more in-depth because Glynda suddenly said, "It's getting late. I think both of us need to rest after that flight, Blake especially."

"I'm not tired," she quickly said. It couldn't be further from the truth, but there was still so much she needed to do, things to tell to Yang in-person but couldn't because a certain someone was watching her and the young blonde's every move.

"You will be if you don't get rest."

Blake scowled at her parental-figure.

"But, Miss-"

The manager not-so-warmly gave her the infamous Goodwitch glare.

"O...kay," Blake backpedaled, losing her fight.

A few words were exchanged during their goodbye.

Blake blushed when Yang hugged her right in front of her manager, but the young blonde didn't mind.

This, of course, only made her even more curious as to what they'd talked about.

"What did you say to her?" Blake asked as they walked towards their ride home.

"Things that needed to be said," Goodwitch cryptically said. "Now, run along."

The musician blinked before asking, "What about you?"

"There are still more things to be said." Blake gave her a disapproving look, which made the blonde scowl. "Don't give me that look. It won't take long."

Blake sighed, knowing very well that she had no choice in the matter.

* * *

Yang raised an eyebrow when Glynda, unlike Blake, didn't get in their taxi.

But she wasn't scared, not at all.

Whatever threats or warnings the manager was about to give her, it wouldn't make her back down. She was sure of it.

"You haven't gained my approval. Not yet," the older blonde said when she was only inches away from the younger one.

"Yay..."

Yang's tone the opposite of enthusiastic. Still, she doubted this was what Blake's manager came here to tell her.

"But I suppose there are far worse people she could've liked instead."

"Yay..."

Yang silently agreed. But she couldn't help but be a little offended by the manager's choice of words.

"You know, I've heard so much about you. Surprisingly, they weren't from Blake. They were from her friends."

Okay, now she was beginning to feel a little... apprehensive.

Yes. That was only it. Apprehensiveness. She wasn't scared, not at all.

"Only Neptune seems to accept you."

"Yay..." she deadpanned.

"Sun and Weiss don't seem to be thrilled when talking about you, much less with the fact that you want to be with Blake."

"Yay." She began to pale.

Glynda gave her a smile - for what probably was the first time.

And it wasn't a smile that was meant to soothe her.

"You have a long, _tiring_ journey ahead of you."

"... Yay."

The woman was walking to where Blake was, but not before stopping and giving her a side-glance, "Goodbye, Miss Xiao Long, I look forward to seeing you again. I am sure Sun, Weiss, and Neptune feel the same way as well."

Yang pulled her hair back with no small ounce of exhaustion.

She'd almost forgotten about the other three.

She'd witnessed the frosty personality Weiss Schnee displayed when she felt bothered, and Sun's rather... unsunny behavior towards people who bothered him, or worse, his friends.

And, while she hadn't actually witnessed it or even heard of it through any source of media, she was sure even Neptune had a more aggressive side.

Needless to say, Yang would need to go through so much before she could gain everyone's approval - the ones that mattered to Blake.

 _... It will be SO worth it, though,_ Yang told herself when thinking about being able to kiss Blake once more.

* * *

 **Okay, so that wraps it up.**

 **Something I noticed when I re-read my story is how... _OoC (Out of Character)_ Yang can be at times.**

 **At first, it is very justifiable since, in this AU, Yang is a big fan of Blake, so the way she acts around her is understandable and not... off-putting in any way.**

 **But as time goes on, Yang should start to loose the "Fangirl" side of her when she's with Blake, because really, she won't just be Blake's fan...**

 **Just look at the title of my story!**

 **So, Fangirl Yang, as much as fun it is to write you... The _real_ Yang needs to shine.**

 **Still, that doesn't mean Yang will stop fangirling, she still is Blake's fan. Just... I'll write Yang more as Yang.**

 **The same thing goes for Blake too. Though, I don't think the Blake in this story is too OoC... but I don't know, what do you think, fellows? Be sure to comment down below, I'd love to hear your thoughts.**

 **The next chapter is going to be fun for you guys to read as well! Maybe even more so than this one... but I don't know, maybe it's not, who knows?**

 **I certainly had fun writing the next chapter. I always have fun writing any F &GF chapters...**

 **Okay... so... umm... Okay, Christ, this story has gone on for like, 4 months (?) and I still don't know how to say goodbye without making it awkward...**

 **Fuck...**

 **Yeah... just... See you next week, people~!**


	17. A Video-Call

**Hi everyone, and welcome back! And today I have a very big announcement to make...**

 **I have a P*treon account! (I censored it because, for some reason, this site doesn't _allow_ that word... **

**I wonder if they'll allow He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or whatever his name is... okay... lemme try...**

 **VOLDEMORT!**

 **... Did you guys read it?... I don't know, I hope so, otherwise I'll just look more insane than I already am).**

 **So, back to the topic, go check it out because if you're done with this chapter, you can get a little _sneak peek_ for the next one~ **

**And also, if my goal is reached, you guys can be _involved_ in the next story I'll write.**

 **Further info is on my P*treon account, so go check it out if you're interested. If you're not interested... then be interested, because it _is_ interesting... at least check it out _once..._**

 **My username is also Clementine Davidson, so, you won't have any problem trying to find it.**

 **Now, with that out of the way, hope you enjoy this chapter! I posted this a little earlier because I'll be a little busy today, so... yeah... umm...**

 **Read this amazing chapter!**

* * *

Before she even opened the door, Yang already heard what sounded very suspicious; laughter.

Ruby's laughter.

And that was suspicious because not only was it late which meant she _should_ be _sleeping_ , but also because the brunette was rarely this… loud at this time. Actually, she was never this loud this late at night unless she was watching something.

Cautiously, she opened the door.

Ruby wasn't in the living room.

It didn't take her long to figure out where she most probably would be, which was her own room.

Yang knocked.

The laughter stopped.

"Who is it?" her sister called out in a suspicious tone.

Yang's eye twitched. _Whoa, jeez, Ruby? Who do you think it is? An intruder?!_

She refrained herself from saying those exact biting words.

"It's the pizza delivery boy," she, instead, answered.

There were footsteps before the sound of the jingling keys could be heard.

Why would she need to lock the door? Yang asked, her worry increasing tenfold. Ruby only would ever lock the door when it was exams week or she was practicing with her instrument.

Yang knew for sure there wouldn't be any exams coming up soon. And she didn't hear any music...

When she went into the room, she was greeted by the sight of nothing peculiar…

Oh, wait, except for the brunette's phone being put on her desk horizontally, propped up by her pencil case as well as other small things.

"What is it, Yang?" the small kid asked, leaning against the doorframe with crossed arms.

"Are you watching videos online?" was her question, squinting and seeing an image of a girl on Ruby's phone.

"No?" Ruby answered, walking towards her phone, smiling at the screen. "I'm video-calling."

The older sister did a double-take. "I'm sorry- you're what?"

"Video-calling!" Ruby half-announced half-told, throwing her arms cheerfully.

Yang was looking back-and-forth between her sister and the phone. Now that she looked more closely, she could faintly see the girl's hair - it looked like whoever she was, she had blonde hair... a really light-shade blonde...

Almost like she had snow white hair...

"Why are you video-calling?" the blonde asked instead, turning her full attention back to her sister.

Yang knew Ruby preferred texts over calls. She could barely handle one phone call from her own friend, let alone a video-call where she could see the other person's face and vice versa.

"Duh," Ruby said, rolling her eyes but with a smile, "because her plane is tomorrow, dummy!"

Yang blinked as her mind began to process those words, putting the two and two together.

 _Plane...? White hair...?_

 _... VIDEO-CALLING?!_

"Ruby," she said, now a little nervous. "Are you video-calling _Weiss Schnee?"_

Weiss Schnee.

The heiress of the Schnee Dust Company - the company that specialized in gathering, polishing, and importing fuels used in everyday things, ranging from vehicles such as planes and trains to smaller things such as phone batteries.

The woman who was also the lead singer of the current most popular band, Hunters and Huntresses. No one could deny she was a musical genius - a prodigy.

But... most importantly...

She was Weiss...

 _Blake's best friend._

"Yup!" was Ruby's gleeful and innocent answer, although her smile was soon replaced by a confused frown. "Why wouldn't we be calling each other? We are best friends."

"... You are?" Yang asked numbly.

"Yeah!" Ruby blinked again before politely asking, "Do you want to meet her?" The blonde swallowed. Her sister probably sensed her inner hesitation. "Don't worry, I'm sure she won't mind."

 _"I do, actually,"_ came the slightly... ruffed voice - most definitely due to connection issues - from the brunette's mobile device.

The voice Yang had heard before, and not just through the albums or interviews...

But the voice she'd heard coming from her very own phone that deciding night.

Ruby gave her a sheepish grin.

Before Yang could have a say in any of this, her wrist was pulled by the young girl's - surprisingly - strong grip, directing her to face the woman she now knew to be Weiss Schnee.

The blonde dumbly stared at the singer who wore a scowl on her face, not knowing what to say.

It appeared... either her mouth refused to cooperate with her brain in terms of uttering even one word, or both of them just... gave up and shut down.

It was Ruby who finally turned a part of her brain back online by nudging her and whispering loudly that not only she but the star was able to hear as well, "Say something, Sis!"

"U-um..." Her brain did turn on, but it was still lagging from shock and anxiety.

Yang did promise herself just this afternoon that she would go through every task, every obstacle, that stood between her and Blake.

Even if those obstacles included one of the most influential and not to mention powerful - in the political perspective, that was - people that also happened to be in the same band as the cat faunus herself.

Yang just... didn't expect to face this obstacle so soon.

Especially this way; through a video-call.

 _"Wow, so this is the chosen one who stole Blake's heart,"_ the heiress said, her eyebrows as flat as her tone, _"I can CERTAINLY see why she's head over heels."_

Yang frowned, though not as deep as the other girl.

"Didn't you steal Blake's phone?" Yang shot, trying to recall the memories she had when she first talked with the singer without realizing it was the singer.

It was a little hard to do so; remembering. And Yang blamed it because every time she tried to remember about that night, all she ever remembered were those smooth, silk-like lips merging with her own...

And the taste of blackberries.

Sweet and delicious blackberries.

... They had become her favorite fruit that night.

 _"Why does everyone keep saying that?!"_ shouted the heiress, more than a little irritated. _"I DID NOT steal Blake's phone! I merely answered it for her since she LEFT without saying a word."_

"Hey, she was under a lot of stress at the time, okay?" defended the blonde.

The heiress' anger was quite understandable. Yang would be angry too if Ruby were to suddenly up and run away in the middle of the night.

But it wasn't as if Blake meant to leave her friend alone like that.

Back then, as far as Yang understood, instinct was what caused Blake into running, and what led her into that dusty building in the first place.

If the faunus were truly thinking coherently and rationally at the time, she would've found a better place to hide in... like a cleaner building, at the very least. Or perhaps a library?

... Yeah, no, _definitely_ a library.

 _"Do you think I don't know that?"_ Weiss asked- well, more like growled or hissed, it was hard to tell due to all the buzzing and the statics of the poor connection.

Yang quickly shook her head and raised hands, not wanting to question the deep and rooted friendship embedded between Weiss and Blake.

"No, no, I'm not saying that at all," she quickly amended, trying not to offend the girl... which proved to be a harder task to handle. "I'm just trying not to make her look bad..."

 _"Oh,"_ she snappily remarked, _"just because you like her means you have to defend her for everything she does?"_

Yang blinked, not quite grasping what the small girl was trying to say.

"W-well-"

 _"What if she's accused of thievery? Will you still defend her? Or will you just leave her once her reputation is tainted?"_

"Blake would never do anything of the sorts," Yang said as firmly as she could. She took a moment to regard the woman in front of her before continuing, "And if she was being accused, I would find out who's responsible and take them to court myself."

Yang had barely thought-out her words before saying it.

The words just felt... natural.

It was just too much of the right thing to say for her not to say it...

It didn't really make sense... not even for Yang herself...

But it did seem like Weiss understood half of what she'd just blurted out.

 _"And if she was?"_

Yang, in response, shakily breathed as her hands - which she didn't know had formed into tight knuckles in the first place - unclenched, "What?"

Due to the small phone screen, the blonde was unable to see much detail on the girl in front of her.

So it truly puzzled her - Weiss' question, that was, until the arrogant singer explained her statement further.

 _"I meant if Blake was actually in the wrong. I know very well that my Blake would never do such an act, but let's take things hypothetically here. What would you do if she were in the wrong?"_

This is a test, she realized with wide eyes and parted mouth.

Weiss was trying to test her... worthiness - for the lack of a better word, similar to what Glynda had done this afternoon.

However, their test was not at all alike.

The heiress was currently testing her in a subtler, more mysterious manner, by giving Yang a harsh situation and watching how she came to make her own decision, her view upon the blonde purely described by the conclusion of the choice.

Whereas Goodwitch's was - to put it simply - blunter, by literally asking her the questions with no double meanings nor any riddles.

Even so... despite still not on the best of terms with Blake's best friend, Yang couldn't help but feel glad and happy for the bassist for having people close to her who actually cared for her a lot and would look out for her.

 _"Well?"_

Yang blinked a few times before realizing the girl on the screen was waiting for her, expecting her to answer that riddle-like question.

"If... If Blake did commit a crime," she started, taking a large composing breath. "Then the first thing I would do would be to confront her about it, ask her why she did it, and, from there, I'll decide..."

 _"You'll decide what?"_ came the suspected question.

Yang, for a moment, hesitated on whether or not she should actually say this.

Weiss was Blake's closest friend.

Yang already won Glynda over... in a way.

If she could get Weiss to not hate her at the very least, then the future problems known as Sun and Neptune won't be so hard to deal with anymore... hopefully...

Yet... Yang didn't want to lie.

If she wanted to win Blake over, she needed to do it in the most genuine way possible.

Lies crumble, no matter how well they were built.

And Yang didn't want to lie, especially not to Blake's best friend.

"I'll decide if I still want to be with her."

This was it.

This was the defining moment.

Either Weiss would say she understood Yang's reasoning and move on with their conversation, or she would hate the blonde completely and tell Blake to stop wanting to be with her...

But neither of those things happened.

No.

What happened was that Weiss started laughing.

And not just a small chuckle accompanied by an even smaller smirk, but the type that was so loud tears started falling.

Yang was... at lost.

And frankly, she was a little irritated by the girl's reaction as well.

Blake was important to her! Their _relationship_ was important!

How could Weiss just... laugh it off like it was no big deal?!

 _"You should've seen your face,"_ wheezed the singer, laughter now died down to just random burst of chuckles.

"This isn't funny," she said through gritted teeth.

She was scared, dammit! So scared Weiss would hate her and force Blake to end the remnants of their relationship!

 _"Oh, it is,"_ confirmed the singer, looking at her through the screen with a self-loving smirk on her face. _"You look like you're about to be executed."_

 _Well... it DID feel like it for a second there, but so what?!_

She really wanted to be able to freely date the faunus. And she wanted to gain approval from everyone who was close to Blake.

One of those people being Weiss Schnee.

"Why're you laughing?"

Yang turned to look at her sister, who held a bag of what suspiciously looked like a pack of cookies in one hand and a plastic-cupped soft drink in the other, slowly slurping from the dark liquid through her straw.

"And where have you been?" Yang asked back.

 _"Ruby? Is that you?"_ the princess from the screen asked.

"You looked like you guys needed some time alone," was the brunette's response, shortly followed by a shrug and a sleazy smirk. "So I left to do important things."

"Like what?" both Yang and the heiress asked. They quickly looked at each other and gave a small glare.

"Buying things," the young girl answered, forcing Yang to look away from the brat. "So, did you guys have a good talk?"

Yang merely narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw.

Through the screen, Weiss cringed.

 _"As well as it can be."_

"Meaning not so well," Yang translated for the both of them.

Ruby pouted, the sight melting the blonde's heart. "Aww, but I wanted you guys to bond."

Confused by the statement, Yang tilted her head to the side, curiously asking, "Why?"

"Because Weiss and I are BFFs!" Ruby exclaimed, throwing both of her hands up in the air, somehow not managing to drop the bag or cause the cup to leak the drink.

 _"Not BEST friends,"_ muttered the slightly bashful heiress. The blonde ignored her, however.

Yang looked at her sister - really looked, turned her gaze back to the scowling heiress who now sported glowing red cheeks, before turning it back again to the grinning young girl.

"Really?" she asked, her initial shock slowly fading away. Instead, what filled her was... amusement.

Ruby had told her moments ago that she and Weiss were 'best friends'.

Yang hadn't been paying her full attention towards that statement…

 _Until now._

"Yup!" Ruby said - popping the 'p', of course - as she put her bag on her bed. "Me and Weiss hang out every day! Well, by either texting, or calling, or video-calling like right now!"

 _"W-well,"_ the heiress said, her badly-concealed stutter shocking Yang. _"Not EVERY DAY."_

Ruby waved at her dismissively and made a "pssh!" sound. "What are you talking about? We talked to each other every day for the past... six months, I think."

Yang's eyes widened and she turned to look at the singer who wasn't as vulnerable as she once thought.

"Six months?!" she repeated, trying to keep her voice low and calm when in actuality she was anything but.

"Yeah!" Ruby answered just as Weiss was about to open her mouth. "And we talked about a lot of things to each other! We tell ourselves what we like, what we dislike! Weiss even promised me to take me to this expensive bakery once she's arrived!"

 _"RUBY!"_ was what immediately came from the singer's mouth. _"That's supposed to be our little secret!"_

"Secret?" Yang repeated again, this time, she was more than just a little amused.

 _Oh, so she thinks she's the only one who can play the overprotective sister role, huh?_

Externally, the blonde put on a stoic, cold-furious, emotionless face.

But internally... well...

She was laughing like a villain.

 _I DO need your approval, Weiss Schnee. But now... it seems like YOU need MY approval as well..._

"What exactly have you two been talking about?" she asked, intentionally lowering her voice to appear more intimidating and furious.

 _"N-nothing inappropriate, I assure you,"_ the heiress said, shaking her head quickly, the same blush still on her face.

"Really?" Ruby asked, tilting her head to the side innocently. "What about that time we talked about which type of boxers best suited Neptune and Sun?"

 _"How is TRYING to make them appear more civilized inappropriate?!"_ Weiss was practically screeching right now.

"I don't know," Ruby said whilst shrugging indifferently. "They're boxers. How can they _not_ be inappropriate?"

"Yeah, Weiss," Yang sensed the need to add. "They can't not be inappropriate. That doesn't make sense."

 _"Your grammar doesn't make sense!"_ Weiss accused, pointing a finger.

"At least they're _appropriate,_ " Yang easily deflected, resisting the urge to break into laughter.

 _Who knew WEISS SCHNEE of all people would be into my sister!_ she told herself. _This'll be easier than I thought!_

 _"Your choice of clothing is inappropriate!"_ said the heiress, scowling.

Yang blinked before looking down at herself again.

She'd almost forgotten she was wearing _that_ shirt. Heh.

"But it is pretty funny," snickered Ruby good-heartedly. "Plus, it's not like men's boxers are what we always talked about," she argued with an honest shrug. Yang squinted her eyes when she added as an afterthought, "Though we did surprisingly talk about that a lot."

From the screen, Weiss sighed. _"Ruby..."_

Even from the way the heiress had spoken the brunette's name... there was so much familiarity and fondness. Yang couldn't help but coo... internally, that was.

She couldn't afford to drop her overprotective big sister card yet.

"Is that all you two talk about?" she asked, arching her eyebrow dangerously, looking at the lead singer dead in the eyes.

 _"NO!"_ was Weiss' very quick response.

"Nah," came Ruby's much more lax and careless one. "Not really. We mostly talk about mouth exercises."

... Wow, okay, even she herself blushed at that innuendo.

 _"S-she meant SINGING exercises! Not mouth-to-mouth like kissing!"_ came Weiss' poorly thought-out defense.

"O...kay," the blonde said, her eyebrow arching even higher. "She never said kissing, though."

Weiss, who already looked so red she might pass out, reddened even more…

Yang was actually concerned that she might need to _cool off._

It was... a very rare sight to see.

The heiress to the Schnee Dust Company - though there were rumors stating she won't hold that title any longer, the lead singer of the thriving band known as Hunters and Huntresses, the so-called emotionless, stonecold Ice Queen... was blushing because of her sister...

Wow...

This was the second largest discovery, only beaten by the discovery of Dust itself...

Ruby Rose could turn Weiss Schnee from the cold, scowling heiress she was known for into this... this...

 _Head over heels highschool girl!_

 _"You know that's not what I meant!"_ the heiress said, trying to save what was left of her dignity.

"Yeah, sure," she said, totally not being sarcastic.

 _"S-shut it, you oaf!"_ she said, making Yang re-raised her eyebrow.

"Really? 'Oaf'?" she questioned, feeling a little insulted, but mostly just disappointed. "Couldn't you choose a better insult, Princess?"

 _"You're one to talk,"_ the royalty girl hissed her reply through gritted teeth. _"How is PRINCESS an insult?"_

Yang thought of her answer for a moment before smoothly saying, "Yeah, you're right. Daddy's Girl is more like it."

Weiss gaped. Then she gave the blonde a glare that would send any normal person cowering...

Fortunately for Yang, and unfortunately for Weiss, she was anything but normal.

She did just insult the lead singer of the current most popular band there ever was.

 _"Shut it! You... you bimbo!"_

"Bimbo?" It was Yang's turn to glare at the white-haired girl. "I'll have you know-"

"Alright, STOP!"

Yang relented and begrudgingly shut her mouth. As much as she wanted to continue her... debate with the singer, she didn't want to be the reason for her sister's sadness.

Through the small screen, she could see Weiss was doing the same, albeit with an added sigh.

Ruby was crossing her arms and actually glaring at her - for what felt like the first time ever.

And Yang actually flinched from that anger-riddled silver eyes.

"Now," sighed the girl with red-tipped hair, grabbing the blonde's shoulder and her phone, holding the latter up so they could see face-to-face. "I don't know why you girls are fighting, but I don't like it. So apologize to each other." When neither of the older girls said any word, she glared even harder towards both of them. "I won't say it twice."

There was a small yet noticeable muffled groan coming from the screen.

 _"Fine. I apologize, Xiao Long."_

Yang resisted the urge to roll her eyes and answered courtly, "Sorry too. And just call me Yang."

Ruby carefully looked back and forth between the two girls.

 _"But,"_ Weiss suddenly said, a hint of her now-familiar scowl returning once again, _"if you try and hurt my Blake, you WILL be scathed."_

Yang rolled her eyes. It wasn't of displeasure or irritation, but it was of fondness instead.

Weiss may be a little... prickly... but in the end, her prickliness came from her not wanting Blake to be hurt in any way.

She could certainly relate to that.

"Fair point," she amended, ignoring the different types of shock displayed on the two girls in front of her. "But if you try to hurt my Ruby, I will burn your house."

Yang grinned and gave the white-haired girl a wink.

"Umm, I don't think this is necessary," said the apprehensive Ruby.

The Ruby that both she and Weiss ignored.

Slowly, the heiress smirked as well.

 _"You'll be dropped out from Beacon,"_ the singer threatened.

The blond's grin widened.

"They'll _never_ find your body," she countered.

"Y-Yang-"

 _"You'll be exiled from Vale,"_ the singer said, her smirk turning into a full joyful - not to mention sadistic - smile.

"You'll get another scar," Yang tried.

"Girls!" shouted the now very visibly terrified brunette. "That's too much!"

"Aww," Yang whined as she pouted but with a smile. "But we're just getting started."

"Seriously," half-whispered her sister, taking away from them and shaking her head. "What is wrong with you two?"

 _"You'll never understand, Ruby,"_ Weiss said, smiling fondly at the girl before directing it at Yang, though much less fondly. _"After all, you're not us."_

At that, the young girl piped, "What do you mean by _that_?"

The blonde ruffled Ruby's head and answered, "Nothing, Rubes. Like the princess said," Yang's eyes met Weiss'. "You just won't get it."

Weiss gave Yang a look that spoke more than words ever could.

It was a promise. A promise that if Yang did hurt Blake, she won't hesitate to hurt Yang.

In return, Yang gave her a stern look.

One that said she never intended to bring any harm to the cat faunus and the same promise goes for her as well, only with Ruby instead of Blake.

They nodded towards each other.

Another promise, one that told they would try their absolute damn best to make sure they won't hurt the ones they or the other person held dear.

That moment, which felt long, lasted no more than a blink of an eye.

As soon as it passed, Yang clasped her hands together and gave them her infamous smile.

"Well, you two seems to be having fun, I don't wanna impose on any... activities..."

Ruby's face paled as white as Weiss' name.

Weiss' face blushed as red as Ruby's name.

 _They really are meant for each other, are they?_ Yang thought as she quickly ran away from her sister's room, tuning out the shouts of denial coming from the two girls.

* * *

 **So... Weiss and Yang finally get to interact... and it is... just as well as you'd expect it.**

 **All that's left is for Ruby and Blake to meet each other... I wonder when that'll happen... *giggles like the maniac that I am***

 **Similar to the White Rose interaction, the Freezerburn meeting is _vastly_ different from the canon world. I blame it on the circumstances and what role they play in this Alternate Universe.**

 **In the canon world, Weiss disliked Ruby, which caused Yang to dislike her, since she's the overprotective big sister. Also, Weiss and Blake had never met each other before, much less care for each other. Not to mention Yang's not into Blake yet at the beginning... _or is she?_**

 **Meanwhile, in _this_ world, both Yang and Weiss _are_ playing the overprotective big sister role. **

**Admittedly, it was fun to write their interaction in a way which has never been written before.**

 **I'm a little scared that they won't act like themselves and be a little too OOC, but... well, like I said before, this isn't the canon world. And plus, I think I did a pretty good job. What do you think?**

 **If you want to know what the next chapter is about, go check out my The-Site-Which-Must-Not-Be-Written page! :3**

 **Also, thanks for reading my story! Hope you have a wonderful day today! If not, then... hope this story cheers you up!**

 **The next chapter's going to be so much fun! I mean, it's totally fun for me to write, not to mention it's what you all probably have been waiting for ;)**

 **See you next week, lads and gents!**


	18. A Date

**Hello again, boys and girls… and everything in between!**

 **Oh, before you ask, yeah, I didn't have a better title for this chapter... so... yeah... I tried, alright!**

 **So, um, how have you guys been this past week? Things are going great for me regarding school! I hope things are going great for all of you too!**

 **Oh! Also, this chapter was a ton of fun for me to write, especially the first half! I based it off a little from personal experience! With me being Ruby and my sister being Yang... No, I'm not joking. This really is how my interaction with my sister goes, like, 80% of the time... the other 20% is just us laughing at things we shouldn't be laughing at... but, umm... yeah...**

 **Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"Yang..." a bored yet familiar voice called, followed by a longer, more bored sigh. "I told you..." the high-pitched voice whined, "you _look fine."_

Yang glared at her unsupporting sister. _Why doesn't she get how important this is for me?!_ she silently asked… well, more like screamed.

She and Blake had planned to go out on a... date - Yes! A date! _An actual date with Blake Belladonna!_ \- and now she hoped her own sister who she'd practically raised would help her choose the best outfit for what was most likely the best date ever!

Okay, so Yang might have barged into the young girl's room without so much as knocking but did Ruby really have to act like such a brat about it?!

It wasn't like she'd broken the door or anything!... she hoped.

"'Fine' isn't what I'm going for, Sis," Yang stated, looking at the white polo shirt she wore through the full-length mirror, debating if she should put on the lemon yellow blouse so it would match with her hair to some extent or the fire yellow one where it would make her hair stand out even more.

Usually, she would just choose the easy route and wore whatever felt comfortable and looked good. But today, Yang was willing to sacrifice the former. Because this wasn't just any normal date.

This was a date with Blake Belladonna.

 _... Eep! I still can't believe it! I'm literally going on a date with someone I've been in- LIKE! Someone I've like for more than a year!_

She'd been so excited the day before. She finally was able to spend some quality time together with Blake and give 'them' a shot...

But then _Miss_ Bratwitch just had to come and ruin everything...

No matter. Now she would get the special perfect date she'd been dreaming about more times than she would ever admit to anyone.

"Then what are you looking for?" questioned her little nagging sister.

To answer her little's question, Yang listed off, "Heart-wrenching, breath-taking, conscious-loosing... something like that."

"It... sounds like you want to kill her."

Yang rolled her eyes at that. Leave it to Ruby to turn wanting to impress your date into something as sinister as murder.

Yang watched as those silver eyes looked distressedly at the pile of clothes she'd thrown haphazardly on the young girl's bed, no doubt not wanting to clean all of this mess.

 _... Eh, I'll get some cookies for her to make up for it,_ Yang told herself, choosing to cross the bridge when she got to it, which won't be before or during her precious time alone together with Blake.

After another internal argument, Yang gave in to the darker yellow, hoping that Blake would notice how good her hair was... and also her face... not to mention her boobs... her everything, basically.

But she wanted her hair to really stand out this time, moreso than usual!

Regularly, she'd always shampooed her hair three times, but for this special occasion, she'd done it four times!

... It was a waste of shampoo, now that she thought of it, but she was sure it'd be worth it!

"I know you like Blake, Yang-" The blonde scoffed at that. She didn't just 'like' the musician... well, she did, but it wasn't as simple as that! "-but I didn't think you'd be this obsessed over it..."

Yang heaved a sigh as she positioned her body sideways to see if there were any wrinkles or stains or - even worse, rips.

"You wouldn't get it, Rubes," she muttered, only half-expecting that Ruby could hear her.

A small part of her doubted her own words... especially remembering the rather... unexpected events that had transpired last night.

Especially since she was forced to talk with her crush's best friend by her own sister.

Lilac eyes narrowed, recalling the even more unexpected closeness between the two young girls.

 _Now that I think about it..._

"How are you doing with Weiss recently?" Yang asked, carefully choosing the right words to not make it extremely obvious that she wanted to know everything there was to know about Ruby and Weiss' newfound relationship that had been blossoming for six dust-damn months without her realizing it.

Seriously, how were those two able to befriend each other so _effortlessly!?_ They almost seemed closer than Blake and herself. Almost.

And how was Ruby able to not tell her sister about it until now?!

And, speaking of, Ruby had befriended Weiss Schnee for Dust's sake! How could she just brush it off as if it were no big deal?!

Weiss was even more popular than Blake was!

And not to mention she was well-known for her frosty personality (pun absolutely intended).

Yet... It didn't seem like Ruby had a lot of trouble befriending Weiss. They looked so comfortable talking with each other... Ruby didn't stutter or bash around when she was speaking with Weiss, and Weiss herself appeared comfortable around Ruby, never saying any harsh words that were directed to the brunette.

How was it possible that Yang had missed all of that?!

... With an internal sigh, she shook away those thoughts, telling herself that while she may not be able to notice what was supposed to be very wild and obvious then, she might be able to know more of it now.

 _Focus on the now, not on what's behind... or something._

"Oh, things are great between me and Weiss!" was the innocent answer. Yang nodded at that, it seemed that no matter how old she'd gotten, Ruby was still- "I'm thinking of taking it to the next step, actually."

The blonde, who had still been deciding on which pair of boots she should wear, dropped both pairs. Not that Ruby had noticed, that was, still being too caught up in her phone, doing whatever it was teenagers do these days with their phone.

"W-what do you mean?" Though she would never admit it out-loud, Yang was... She was terrified of whatever answer her little sister would give.

"Yeah, we've been talking. It's time for us to get _very_ _serious._ " Yang turned to fully regard her little sister. And there she was, eyes up to the ceiling in thought and smile promising something unforgettable. Shit.

"Rubes?"

The girl in question didn't hear her.

In fact, her smile grew into a loopy grin. Double shit.

"Yeah... time for it indeed..." There was a pregnant pause. Yang didn't know what kind it was for the younger sister, but for her, that pause was terrifying. Ruby threw her fists up in the air powerfully, cheering, "Time for a collaboration!"

Dumfounded, the big sister repeated in a questioning manner, "Collaboration?"

Ruby was unbothered by her perplexedness, it was also likely that she saw Yang's face and wisely chose not to dwell on it. "Yeah! Back then it was just me and Weiss talking about music and helping each other out! But soon, we can actually test our theories! Maybe even create covers!"

Music... she was talking about music... thank Dust...

Of course, now that Yang thought about it, why would Ruby be talking about anything other than music?

Despite Ruby herself claiming countless times that she wasn't all that innocent... she was pretty much still innocent. She was sure Weiss was as innocent, if not, more so than the younger girl.

Yang could tell just by their conversation last night.

"Oh, don't forget to take your pills, all right?" the blonde warned.

"Yeah, yeah, I won't." Lilac eyes locked themselves into silver, silently asking if that really were the case. Ruby rolled her eyes and levelly gazed back at her sister. "I _promise,_ Yang."

 _Good._

After looking at the full-body mirror one last time to see if she looked good enough for a date with the most awesome musician of all time - which she _totally_ did, Yang left.

* * *

Blake was glad that, for once, it was she who spotted Yang first, and not the other way around.

She'd arranged them to meet up in front of the so-called 'old abandoned building', because not only was it closer to their destination, but also because that place held meaning.

It was the place where they first met and shared their first kiss.

It was special to her.

She was sure it was special to Yang as well.

Speaking of Yang, there she was... by the doors, looking around, trying to find her favorite musician.

Blake had to pause herself and admire the blonde's choice of clothes.

A brownish yellow blouse covering a white t-shirt. Trailing below was black leggings and short brown boots.

Yang certainly looked good... Wow...

And people wondered why Blake wanted to date her.

... They should really start wondering why Yang wanted to date her.

Yang's choice of clothing made Blake check herself and what she worn.

The fabric of her long-sleeved white shirt with black stripes hugged her smooth skin coolly, and the bootcut grey pants was also a nice choice and really accentuate her body... at least, that was what she'd been told.

Blake looked at the glass window from a small shop - a cafe, if she was correct - and tried to see the blurry reflection that stared back.

It was amazing how different she looked normally with when she was a performer.

The cat faunus wondered if Yang would recognize her like this... when she looked so... normal.

Time to find out, her mind stated, though she doubted anything such as that would happen.

Slowly yet graciously, she walked towards her cute prey, who still wasn't aware of where she was, head twisting back and forth to find the girl she was supposed to hang out with today.

She might not be stealthy like a ninja or a terrorist, but that didn't stop her from trying to sneak up on the clueless blonde.

Instead of being ruthless and scared her by shouting at her so suddenly, Blake decided the gentler approach would be better and put her two hands on the girl's eyes, covering her sight, similar to what the blonde had done in what felt like ages ago.

"Guess who?" she asked, unable to hide her growing smile.

Yang's shoulders, which had been stiff upon the contact, gradually loosened in relief. A chuckle slipped out of her, and Blake felt her body vibrating with that small sound of joy.

"The most beautiful woman the world?" was the smooth answer, turning Blake from a calm-minded musician into a jaw-dropped mess in a heartbeat. _How_ could she have said that so casually?

She quickly granted Yang her vision again only to look at her in the eyes and smacked her upper arm lightly with a scoff, praying the blonde wouldn't be able to see her blush.

It wasn't that Blake hated Yang's flirtatious comment... per se... She just hated what it did to both her brain and heart. The former, turning into jelly, and the latter, beating as hard as an olympic runner's.

Yang leaned in a little closer... or maybe it was Blake who did so...

But they were now only inches apart.

They were close to each other...

 _... Still not close enough, though._

"Ah, so my guess is true," Yang's soft voice echoed, followed by a small, knowing smile. "It really is the most beautiful woman in the world."

Blake suppressed the urge to blush if she hadn't already, choosing to scowl and order, "Shut it." Despite her words, however, she was smiling.

"Your face betrays your words, Blake," the blonde wisely pointed out, smiling even brighter when the noirette blinked. It appeared that she failed to hide how she truly felt. _Great._

Blake looked away and shook her head, but couldn't stop the smile from blossoming in her face.

"Whatever." It sounded overused, but really, she didn't know how else she could respond to that.

Yang's grand smile quickly swept away her frown, causing her lips to curl upwards in a smirk.

All of Blake's previous irritation seemed to vanish upon hearing such a delightful sound. She didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing, so she shook her head again, hoping this weird butterflies in her stomach would go away soon.

It didn't help that Yang looked good with that blouse... it sure did make her hair looked as if it were glowing...

Blake was sure Yang did it on purpose.

Her hair looked extraordinary... well, everything about Yang was extraordinary.

 _... Did I really just say that? Well, THOUGHT that?_

The butterflies in her stomach flapped wildly, causing her to feel a little lightheaded when Yang's smile widened even more.

Blake pushed all of those feelings away and gave what she hoped was an equally genuine smile that was not awkward at all in the slightest.

Blake then nudged Yang, silently telling her they should start walking. The blonde grinned despite not knowing where they were heading, unlike the feline girl herself.

Blake took this silence as a way to look at her surroundings.

It had been half a year since she last came here, yet it didn't seem like much - or anything, really - changed.

The streets weren't busy. Perhaps it had something to do with today being a weekday. Or maybe because Vale just wasn't as busy as Atlas or Menagerie.

Vale was different... especially this part of the place.

"So, Date, where are we heading to?" Yang asked after a few minutes of walking.

Blake raised an eyebrow and looked at the slightly taller girl who looked straight ahead, her mouth forming that easygoing smile Blake had come to adore.

Instead of answering, she questioned, "'Date'? Is that really your nickname for me?"

Yang's eyes found hers...

Blake had never seen such a beautiful shade of purple. Heh. It had become her favorite color; purple, that was. Either that or yellow.

"Then would you prefer Love? Or Beautiful? Or the woman of my dreams?" she said. Despite her seemingly woeful words, those shades of purple were filled with nothing but interest, meaning that perhaps Yang wasn't joking all that much. The blonde then frowned a little, a spark of worry filling her now-distressed eyes. "Is Kitten okay? Or is that too discriminating?"

Blake's eyes narrowed in return. Slowly, she answered, "No, Sun and Neptune sometimes call me Kitten."

She might not enjoy being labeled that way, but she knew the boys never meant it in a degrading way.

It was similar to whenever Weiss called Sun 'Idiotic Buffoon' or 'Banana-obsessed Monkey'... the latter always serving to make the blond in question to laugh rather than be offended.

For her, it was quite the same. If it were strangers who called her in those terms - or worse, people who she didn't particularly like - then she won't stand idly by and let them call her that.

If it were close friends whom she trusted would never harm her in those ways, then she would begrudgingly accept it, knowing it was meant to show endearment and fondness rather than things more malicious.

"Then I won't call you Kitten," Yang said, throwing one fist up in the air, "or anything else related to you being part-cat."

Clearly not expecting her to say such words, Blake couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

Yang looked at her, a smile so small forming on her lips that Blake doubted the blonde even realized she was smiling.

"Because you're more than just your heritage," she said, her voice growing softer and deeper. "Even though it gives you those cute ears. Plus," Yang suddenly smirked goofily, "Kitten is already their nickname. I want my own."

Blake rolled her eyes as Yang winked in what was intended to be an arousing way.

"Well," the noirette breathed, "in that case, shouldn't I give you a nickname too?"

Blake smiled when Yang paused as if the thought had never crossed her mind before.

"Sure! Why not?" the blonde said after she recovered from her shock.

Blake hummed thoughtfully as she considered what nickname would be fitting for the radiant blonde.

She didn't want something overused or cheesy such as Darling or Love.

She wanted it to fit Yang's personality.

She wanted it to be so... Yang.

"Take your time, Blake," Yang said, her arms behind her back, "we've got all day today..." She frowned as she looked at the faunus. "Speaking of, where are we going?"

Blake smirked knowingly.

"You'll see" was her cryptic response.

When Yang whined playfully, Blake noticed something she really should've known earlier on.

She was holding hands with Yang.

 _Strange, I never remembered holding her hand..._

And yet, it felt so comfortable doing so... so right.

She didn't make a big deal out of it... that much.

"It's just that this is sort of my territory, you know." She was forced to direct her attention back to Yang as she spoke. "And I'm the one thrilled to see you after all this time."

The blonde looked very guilty for what she did - or, rather, what she didn't do. It sent a pang of something akin to fondness to Blake's chest, and she could only pray her cheeks weren't a noticeable shade of rosy red.

However, she decided that instead of focusing too much on that seemingly innocent yet heart-melting comment, Blake decided to tease Yang by saying in mock offense, "Oh? And you think I'm not thrilled to see you."

Of course, she knew Yang didn't actually think that way. Blake had made it pretty obvious from the many messages from before her arrival that she'd missed Yang dearly and couldn't wait for her to be able to see those pretty face and equally pretty eyes up close again.

Still, it was fun to see the blonde's reaction.

The reaction was spontaneous. Yang flinched and let go of Blake's hand - much to her absolute dismay - to shake both of it vigorously, looking like a child who'd broken a glass.

"W-well, not like _that_!" she squeaked out, her voice much higher than usual.

Blake hummed, pretending to be unconvinced. However, after a second, she broke into a quiet fit of snickers.

She just couldn't help herself. Yang had looked so horrified.

Upon noticing that it was all a joke, the blonde pouted while whining, "Bla~ke!"

It only caused the feline girl to laugh even louder.

Despite her brave bravado, Yang could be such a cutie without even realizing it sometimes.

Blake's pace slowed considerably once she knew they were close to their destination.

They didn't waste their breaths talking about usual mindless small talks, and Blake liked that about Yang... about them.

The silence was never awkward and their chatter never dragged on too long.

This date was special. Even if it wasn't a date - which it definitely was, they'd both confirmed it, it was a romantic date - this... afternoon was different than either their first not-date and their second.

This time, it was Blake who planned out what their evening would be.

When the noirette had first brought it up, she knew the blonde would be quick to disagree, so before she could even utter a single word, Blake had beat her to it, insisting of how much she wanted it and listing off reasons as to why she wanted this - not to mention pouting as well... lots of irresistible pouting.

At its core, the reason was simple; she wanted to be the one who planned things for once.

Sure, things were a bit tricky since she'd only stay in Vale for a couple of days, whereas Yang had lived in it for years, but Blake had pulled it through in the end.

Sure, it may not be the ideal place for a date - even moreso, a first date, but... for someone like Yang...

Blake couldn't think of anything better.

"We're here."

Blake stood face to face with the entrance of the building. She didn't have to recheck the address to see if this was the right place. The building itself - as well as the sign that hung on top of it - gave it away.

They were here.

The place where Blake planned to take Yang for this date.

She didn't have to look at Yang to know she was shocked.

Blake _did_ hear her gasp, after all.

"... You're... taking me to... a boxing match?"

Heh. The idea came to her when she was on her flight to Vale. Blake was reminiscing their conversations... it was hard to believe all of that happened six months ago, especially when she remembered each and every detail vividly...

Well... mostly the vivid details were that of Yang's entire self...

Her hair...

Her eyes...

Her lips...

 _No! Don't go there YET!_ she chastised herself.

In one of their conversations, she remembered Yang talking fondly about boxing - since she herself used to box with her father.

Blake knew, from the way the blonde had said it, that she dearly missed boxing.

So, since she herself couldn't box, the next, better - and not to mention safer - option would be to take the blonde to this place.

At first, Blake was a little hesitant because she was never one that loved those types of 'rough' sports... or any sports at all, really.

But if it meant making Yang happy, Blake was willing to do this, amongst many other things.

Even so, Blake still wasn't sure if Yang would like it. She wasn't certain if she'd made the right decision by bringing her here.

"I... hope you-"

"Eek!" Yang squealed in a very 'un-Yang-like' way, both of her arms linked together as she grinned ear-to-ear. "I love it! I love this so much! Blake," she grabbed both of Blake's hands, not even noticing the noirette's red cheeks and wide eyes. "How did you know!?"

Yang's sudden... outburst (for the lack of a more definitive word) caused her brain to temporarily... shut down. It took her a while before answering, and even then, her voice was a little stutter-ish.

"You mentioned it once or twice... I thought it would be a good idea... you said you loved it..."

That wasn't the entire truth. Yang had only mentioned it once, but the way she'd spoken about it stuck with Blake. Of course, she didn't go all that far before Glynda interrupted their conversation, saying she needed to go, but there was this... longing in her eyes, and that was more than enough for Blake to know how much Yang missed it.

"I did!" Yang nodded enthusiastically, similar to that of a child. It made her remember Ruby, Yang's little sister, for some reason. Though they had never met directly face-to-face, Blake had a suspicion that the brunette would sometimes act this way as well. "Man, I used to watch these things every night! Once I even skipped school just so I could watch it!"

"You're welcome," Blake happily remarked. Seeing Yang act this way was very unusual...

It wasn't a 'bad' kind of unusual. Oh… not at all.

Blake knew Yang was happy and she'd made the right choice by bringing her here...

But she didn't take for the account of just how happy Yang was... which was why her breath hitched when the blonde suddenly scooped her into a tight hug.

It was different from the one they'd shared when they first saw each other again yesterday at the airport.

That hug was one of yearning and wanting... and so much more.

But this...

This hug was the very definition of joy itself.

Something clutched Blake's chest when she realized just how soft Yang's hair was... and its smell...

"C'mon! Let's go!"

A second later, the moment vanished - as if it never happened before.

Yang was dragging her to the building, exclaiming something about the competitors and the snacks, telling her how much she would love it.

... Blake knew she would never be able to pay attention to the show - not fully, at least...

She was...

Her mind was just replaying that hug over and over again...

Yang's hair...

It smelled of lemons...

 _Just like her lips..._

Huh... Who would've thought?

* * *

 **Remember way back in the older chapters when Yang told Blake that she enjoyed boxing…? Yeah, didn't want to just write that then not do anything about it.**

 **Plus, it makes a weirdly... cute, dorky first date, don't you think? I actually came up with this idea while re-reading some of my older chapters, just in case there's some continuity error or something, but instead, BOOM! _Idea..._**

 **The next chapter's probably one of my favorites so far! It's got some sweet dialogues from Yang as well as the ending of what Blake and Yang's nicknames will be for each other.**

 **If you're interested, then go to my P*treon account to get a little sneak peek of the next chapter! And or if you just generally want to support me :3**

 **Oh, and thanks for reading my work! You guys are awesome like that! See you all next week with my new chapter titled... "Nicknames"!... Or something... I don't know, haven't really decided yet.**

 **(Edit): Quick announcement, the next chapter will be uploaded a day earlier. Reasons behind this is that I'll be going out of town on Tuesday. So... yeah, expect me to upload early.**

 **But, bye guys! See you later!**


	19. Promises Fulfilled

**Hello again, people.**

 **And, yeah, see, I'm posting earlier this week because I'll be out of town for a few days, which will hopefully be good for me. I've been getting writer's block (don't worry, it's not that serious) and maybe a small break will be just what I needed.**

 **So, let's get to the chapter already.**

* * *

The bright moon towering over them seemed to shine more usually than it did. Maybe it had something to do with Yang's good mood.

The air was cool, but not overly so to the point where she and her date shivered...

A part of her wanted it to be cold just so she could take off her jacket and gave it to Blake like a true gentleman would... Granted, she was wearing a blouse, not a jacket, and she wasn't a man...

It was the thought that counted, alright!

There weren't many trees in the current street they were walking on, but few as they may be, their rustling leaves could still be heard.

This date was... many things...

Unexpected, because Blake had taken her to a boxing match, of all things.

Wild, because... well, it was a boxing match, not a chess or a golf match.

And finally... this date was anything but bad... because Blake was with her.

Blake was her _date._

Blake...

The girl who she knew even at first glance would never want to go that kind of place - to watch that kind of sports. But she did.

Yang knew it wasn't because she was actually interested. Far from it.

She went to see that match because she knew Yang would love it.

And Yang did love it.

She loved the show.

She loved this date.

She loved Bla- the fact that Blake was there with her.

But most of all...

She loved the fact that Blake actually _did_ enjoy the show as well.

At first, Yang could see that she was tense and didn't know what to do, having never been in this type of situation before. But fortunately for both of them, Yang knew exactly what to do.

After grabbing their snacks and drinks and taking their seat, Yang reassured Blake that the show wouldn't include any broken bones or bleeding foreheads. This just wasn't that type of show.

When the competitors had shown up wearing protective gears, Blake sighed in relief without realizing it herself, unlike Yang.

Yang explained how boxing was not at all like wrestling. The former wouldn't be as violent nor as gory as the latter.

As the match progressed, Blake had started to calm down, especially with Yang explaining what the rules were.

On the last few rounds, the faunus had even cheered alongside the crowd. She'd even mutter how the punches were not violent enough... which had, admittedly, scared Yang even until now.

But in the end, Blake truly had enjoyed the match, and that was all that mattered.

Even as they currently walked in the empty streets of Vale, Yang could see how Blake's eyes sparkled with genuine, heartfelt joy. It was a rare sight to see. Yang wished she could see more of the musician in her current state.

In fact, she wished she could see more of Blake in general.

"Well," Yang said, wanting to have a conversation with the timid girl, intentionally taking a deep, slow sigh before continuing, "that was fun. Did you enjoy yourself?"

The girl's feline ears flatten a little. Yang had long since learned it meant she was either irritated, embarrassed, or furious. Judging by the situation, Yang was leaning more towards her being embarrassed, especially with what choice of words she used.

"I... guess so. Surprisingly."

Yang couldn't help it; she laughed.

"Oh, c'mon, it wasn't _that_ bad."

Yang wasn't blind nor deaf. She had both seen Blake's face and hear her laugh - and it was a very memorable laugh.

Blake had, more than likely, enjoyed the match more than Yang _herself_ did.

Blake's eyes trailed off to the side. Though Yang knew she wasn't looking at anything - not really. She just didn't want to make eye-contact; too embarrassed to do so.

"It was bad, but it... was also entertaining. It was... not too painful to watch. Not a lot of blood." Ah. Perhaps that was the main reason why Blake was so hesitant to watch the show. Blood.

The sight of blood. Some people feared them. Others simply disliked them. Maybe a few were disgusted by the sight of them.

Judging by what had happened to the girl... what almost happened to her...

Yang understood her fear. Perhaps a little too well.

"I appreciate it, Blake," she said, her mouth forming a little smile when Blake's eyes finally found hers again.

The yellow orbs faintly glowed in the dark night. Was that just her imagination? Or were they really shining?

... No matter what the reason may be, Yang found herself entranced by those eyes.

"Not a problem." It took her a few seconds to register that Blake had responded.

Yang didn't know what came over her. As they continued stepping on the concrete texture of the old street, the blonde kept stealing glances to her date.

They had decided she should walk Blake to her hotel before making her way to her own apartment. Well, Blake had never _actually_ agreed to it... but she had insisted.

Yang had always known Blake was beautiful in more than one way... but... above this nightly sky... surrounded by the darkness countered only by the small flickering lights coming from buildings...

Blake looked very... very far away from her...

Yet...

She was so close...

It was just...

Indescribable.

Yang linked her hands with the girl's own.

The noirette didn't react to it - not in a bad way. In fact, as soon as those hands were joined, she smiled and grasped it.

The small gesture did wonders to Yang's heart.

The blonde tried to simply... feel Blake's hand. The warmth of it. The smoothness of it. The comforting presence of it...

It was exhilarating... yet also scary...

Blake wasn't hers. Yet she was.

 _... What is wrong with me tonight?_

"Hey... Yang?"

She looked at Blake again, trying her best not to dwell on the fact that a strand of her black-inked hair fell in the center of her face, making her look even more stunning than ever... or how her cheeks seemed to glow a cute shade of pink... or just how absolutely gorgeous she looked... and also pretty... not to mention beautiful... just... _all_ of those words combined wouldn't even _begin_ to describe what she was seeing right now...

... It was a little hard not to dwell on those facts...

But, nonetheless, Yang tried her absolute best to pretend as if she wasn't enthralled by this gorgeautiful person in front of her. Though she knew she was most likely failing.

"Yeah?" Her voice sounded a little raspy. Her throat was dry. It must be because of the adrenaline still coursing through her veins from that match. It sure had nothing to do with Blake's gorgeousness. Yep. Definitely nothing to do with that.

With each step Blake took, her pace gradually slowed down. It didn't take Yang awhile to realize the feline had completely stopped walking.

She stopped as well, turning to regard the smaller girl in front of her fully.

Blake was hugging herself with one arm. It made her look even smaller than she actually was... Yang wanted to pull her into a warm, protective hug and whisper soft, needed comforts in her ears.

But Yang couldn't do that, could she?

Not here. Not right now.

Not _yet._

"Do you... do you still want to do this?" Blake's words were soft and fragile as a feather. But Yang had heard it, clear as day. And she didn't like it; not the way Blake looked when she'd said those words, and certainly not the words itself. "Do you still want to date me? It's been six months... I'll... understand if you want to be with someone else..."

Someone else? Who could Blake even be talking about? Yang Xiao Long had many friends. But she was never sure any of them ever stick around with her and hung out with her because they truly liked her for who she was.

There used to be only one person who Yang trust would never leave her no matter what, and that person was her own sister.

... And now, there was also Blake, who had proven herself time and time again - whether it was through actions, or words, or both - that she never wanted to be with Yang because of her looks alone.

Who had shown she enjoyed Yang's company, intentional or not.

And... for someone like Yang Xiao Long...

Someone like Blake Belladonna was a myth… a _dream._

"Blake." Her voice was stern and a little breathless. Yang didn't know why, but she continued on either way. "If I've moved on from you, then we wouldn't be here right now." Both of her hands found themselves grasping Blake's own. "If I don't want to be with you, I would have told you." She needed Blake to look into her eyes, to know just how much she'd meant it; the words she'd spoken. So, one hand unheld the noirette's own just so she could slowly tilt Blake's chin up, gently forcing her to look up and into a pair of lilac.

When her eyes met a pair of a beautiful shade of shimmering yellow, staring back at her with so many emotions she couldn't even begin to determine what it was, Yang smiled and prayed it displayed her honesty.

"I _want_ to be with you, Blake. Not seeing you for six months won't change that, in fact, it made me realize just how much you mean to me, Blake. I want you, and I'm certain you want me to."

Yang paused to... regard everything. She regarded her heart - and the unusual fast beating of it. She regarded her thoughts, jumbling and clouding and just... very unorganized.

She... regarded the woman in front of her... And all traces of her nervous thoughts disappeared...

She asked what her heart wanted.

She asked what she hoped - no, _prayed_ \- Blake also wanted.

"Blake... Will you let me fulfill the promise we made all those months ago?"

Yang didn't have to tell her what promise she had spoken of... after all, they only made one.

Blake knew what she was talking about; what she meant, the way her eyes sparkled brighter as soon as she'd said it proved that statement. Her eyes spoke what her mouth didn't - couldn't - say.

Consent.

And that consent was what made Yang let go her restraints, using her two hands to cup the girl's cheeks and pull her into her own mouth.

The kiss was sweet but short... very short.

They pulled away seconds later.

Yang frowned.

"It's familiar," she spoke.

Blake raised an eyebrow - Yang noted that her cheeks were as pink as her own, but chose not to comment on it.

"Is that a bad thing?" Blake asked, half-amused.

"Yes," Yang responded all too quickly. Blake's face would've fallen if not for what she said next. "It's too short."

Yellow eyes flickered with something akin to predatory.

Seconds later, their mouth met once again.

It was familiar yet very different at the same time.

The taste of blackberries came into her mind again. The taste Yang had loved when she first tasted Blake's lips and what was inside it. It was so, so familiar...

And yet...

It became very different when - much to her surprise - Blake deepened the kiss, enforcing her into something entirely new, but not unwelcome at all.

This was not the same as their first or second kiss.

Yang couldn't place what it was yet - what was so different about it, and honestly... she didn't care...

Her mind didn't think of anything. Her body moved accordingly, on what seemed like the right thing to do with not an ounce of hesitation.

One hand traced down onto the girl's neck gently but firmly, feeling the soft, clean, warmth of it... it only made her want more... it made her want Blake more.

The other traced down even further to the girl's hip, rubbing circles in it... when she did, Blake deepened the kiss even more - which turned out to be possible, dominating her entire self. And Yang loved it.

Much to both of their disappointment, the very useless organ called lungs were begging them to take a breath of air, and they couldn't do so while also doing the much better thing called kissing.

So they pulled away.

Blake's eyelids were fluttering, those orbs of gold riddled with haziness. Her hair was more untamed than before but still held the same graciousness. Her mouth was parted, those lips redder than wine.

Yang imagined her own state was no better. Not that she cared.

"I never break promises, Blake," the blonde found herself saying, albeit her voice was still a little breathless. "And I don't let others break their promises - not if I can help it..."

Suddenly, a whirl of self-consciousness washed over her, dimming the fire in her chest.

"So, Blake... do you..." _Do you still want me?_ "Do you want to try..." _us?_ "this?"

Yang didn't know why she'd asked that. Maybe she was insecure. Maybe she felt like she just needed to ask that, to truly confirm this.

"Doesn't that kiss already proof enough?"

Yang blinked.

Suddenly she felt so dumb.

"W-well, yeah," she said, her already pink cheeks from her prior 'kiss' darkening even more, "but I want more!"

Yang hadn't intended to sound so... childish. But she grinned when Blake rolled her eyes playfully, putting up with her immaturity.

"Fine," the noirette said, one hand clasping the back of her head, slowly pulling the blonde onto her as she herself slowly leaned in. But, seconds before their lips crashed, she whispered, "Just so you know, I, too, never break promises."

* * *

An arrogant-sounding scoff.

"I never break promises."

Ruby blinked a few times, her smile growing wider and wider with each passing moment.

They were at the entrance of her favorite studio; the Valkeryie studio. The only studio she'd ever gone into. And that was only because of the owner of the studio - Nora if her memories served her correctly... which almost never happened - was a friend of Jaune.

And plus, the studio had a vending machine in it for some reason and it had pies, so that was a plus.

The brunette chuckled.

"Neither do I," said the red-clothed girl.

They'd texted earlier that day when Yang was choosing her clothes for her date.

Weiss was the one who texted her first, telling her she was currently in Vale and she wanted to try and make music with Ruby like they'd always wanted for months.

Ruby quickly agreed and gave her the studio's address, saying she'd wait for Weiss and hoped she would actually come.

The heiress' reply was; _**I never break promises.**_

 _Turns out that is true,_ thought the brunette.

One hand gripping her guitar bag, and the other holding the door open, she did what was probably the worst bow anyone had ever done and said, "Shall we?"

What she received in response were a small glare and an even smaller smile. The former would've bothered her if not for the latter.

Once they were inside the studio, Ruby suddenly got a little nervous.

 _What if she doesn't like it? What if she thinks it's beneath her or something? What if she doesn't wanna see me again because of this? Oh, Dust, I should've-_

"Is that... a vending machine... filled with... _pancakes?"_

Ruby blinked. Looking to the heiress, she found her face was one of mortification and shock. The brunette couldn't understand why though, vending machines were awesome! Even though this particular vending machines _only_ served pancakes... for some odd reason... it was still awesome! Pancakes were awesome - though, not as much as strawberries.

"Yeah!" she happily replied, immediately putting the bag down carefully and unzipping it to reveal her second favorite guitar... which also happened to be her least favorite... because she only had two guitars.

Ruby then walked towards one of the many speakers placed in this small room - her instrument strapped to her shoulders - and turned it on.

"How are Sun and Neptune doing?" she asked, trying to make a small talk. She was never good at it - not usually. But... when she was with Weiss, it was as if she'd _never_ met the term anxiety. She was like a completely different girl. A more confident one. A cooler one.

"Either sleeping or somewhere doing something annoying," was the reply that caused her to snicker. Ruby had never met the two guys face to face, per se, but from what she'd seen, they weren't exactly known for being proper or... something along the lines of that.

Sometimes she wondered how they could get along with Weiss so well, especially with how uptight and strict the girl could be at times.

What about Blake?" came her next question as she plugged in her guitar. "Has she texted you about her date with Yang?"

"No," was the firm response. "I'd imagine she's too caught up in the moment to even remember me. What about your sister?"

"Yeah. Same here." The young girl shrugged. It wasn't like that was a rare thing or anything. Whenever Yang was going out - and she went out _a lot,_ being the party girl that she was - she almost never texted her. "Oh well, it just means more time for us to make something... very special~"

"W-what?"

Ruby smiled at her instrument and piped, "Music!"

"O-oh, right. Yes. Music." _Huh. That's weird._ Why did Weiss sound both relieved and disappointed? This was about music... right?

Ruby tried strumming a few chords, the sound literally being music in her ears.

"Are you not bringing White Rose?" questioned the heiress, no doubt looking at the same object as her.

Ruby grinned.

"Nah," she said, waving a hand. She picked up her black-colored guitar and traced over the moon pattern embedded on it. "My other baby can't be plugged in." It was an acoustic guitar. "And, hey!" She perked up. "You remember her name!"

"Of course I did." Weiss gave her a stern frown. "Instruments are essential to any and all musician."

Ruby's grin turned into a full-blown smile.

 _FINALLY! Someone gets it!_

"I know right!" she said, not minding the fact that the volume of her voice rose to the point where she was shouting. "Instruments are never just instruments! They're the extension of ourselves! They're apart of _us!_ They're so cool! I mean, I _love_ my babies, but I just like seeing new ones too, you know!?"

Weiss looked very perplexed. And for a moment, Ruby feared the girl might consider her words strange and not want to hang out with her again.

But, while it did seem like Ruby's words sounded odd to her, Weiss had the decency to nod, albeit a little slowly.

"Yes... I... guess." It sounded more like a question than it did a statement.

Ruby purposefully let out a blissful sigh.

"If only Yang could understand." She loved her sister and everything, but sometimes... the blonde just didn't get it.

"Is she not a musician?" Weiss asked, causing her to snort.

"Pssh! Yang? Nah!" She shook her head while waving her hands exaggeratedly. "She never got the time! She's more into..." the brunette's tone got a little more solemn. "Sports."

There were two common things each and every musician could... relate to each other. Ranging from country-singers to heavy-metal bass players; they all shared these two... opinions and feelings.

The first was - obviously - their passion and love for music.

While the second...

The second was their... dislike towards sports...

Ruby cringed at the simple mention of such an... aggressive and incomprehensible... thing that was not art.

She looked at Weiss and found that she was wearing a similar, more guarded expression.

"Ah... I see."

Not wanting to dwell on a matter as hideous as sports, Ruby quickly mentioned, "But she did once tell me that if she were to play an instrument, it'd be a saxophone!" The brunette decided to speak out that fact because it had something to do with music - what they both loved more than almost anything. However, after saying it out loud, Ruby began to realize just how horrifying that statement was. "So... yeah... be glad she's not interested in music like we are..."

Yang... with a _saxophone..._

Even Weiss, who had only met Yang once - and even then, it was through a video-call - flinched and muttered, "I can see why that would be unfortunate."

Again: Yang. With a saxophone… That would just…

That would cause the destruction of any and all things.

"She'll play it late at night or early at mornings just so she could mess with me!" Ruby exclaimed, her face twisting that into pure fear. "And she'll just play those weird love songs instead of good music!"

The heiress chuckled and shook her head. Ruby couldn't fathom why. What she'd just described was the unimaginable, infinite horror.

Ruby then shook her head. Now wasn't the time to think about Yang and saxophones. Now was the time to jam to Weiss' pants!

That... didn't sound right.

She deliberately coughed.

"So, what're we gonna play?" she asked.

They hadn't exactly decided on what song they would play, let alone how they would play it - or, in Weiss' case, sing it.

"The song you played when I saw you that night," Weiss smoothly said, not realizing how Ruby's jaw dropped.

That was... that was a good choice - a very good choice, in fact.

"R-really?" She couldn't believe it.

Weiss didn't give her an answer. She put her small hand on her chin, stroking it slightly as she narrowed her eyes and stared at the nothingness, deep in thought.

"We should upload this on the... internet."

Ruby Rose. And Weiss Schnee. Together. Being made publically.

Wow. Was this… was this a dream?

"Really?!" This time, she couldn't contain her smile from breaking out if she wanted to. She had to unhand her guitar and jumped over to Weiss, hands clasped together, metallic eyes shining as bright as pearls.

In response, Weiss took a step back - moreso out of pure shock than any of the more negative emotions.

After blinking, the heiress nodded. Ruby paid no mind; the fact that her cheeks were a cute shade of pink that matched her even cuter face. It probably had something to do with the weather, after all.

"Yes," her timid voice rang, "your skills deserve recognition. That is if you want to-"

"Of course I want to!" she cut off before Weiss could even finish such an... outrageous thought. Who _wouldn't_ want to be with Weiss Schnee?! People who others should definitely avoid! That's who! "But..."

"But?"

There was an accepting smile plastered on the older girl's face. The kind that unknotted the tension on her shoulders and made her breath a little easier.

Eh. Weiss was a cool person and Ruby would trust her with anything... well, except for cookies, but that wasn't the point!

Ruby coughed and tried not to look at Weiss as she spoke, fully aware how different her voice sounded. How smaller, and more fragile it was... She could only pray Weiss wouldn't notice.

"You're so famous and cool and... you have this... reputation..." A pause as she gathered her bearings and phrased her words more softly. "Are you sure you want to do this with me?"

Head forehead suddenly stung. She rubbed it and looked at Weiss, who was now much closer than she had been before there was a pain in her head.

Had Weiss _poked_ her?

"Don't be a dolt." Those azure eyes were brimming with emotions Ruby couldn't name. It reddened her cheeks. "Of course I want to. You're my friend."

Ruby smiled. Weiss was right - of course she was, she was _Weiss._

With her mood now better, the brunette decided to poke fun at the singer by asking, "Am I your best friend?"

An eyebrow rose as Weiss stared at her, unimpressed.

"I don't have a 'best friend'. And even if I do, it would be Blake."

Ruby paused for a moment to ponder before asking, "What about the best _girl_ friend?"

"... Have you forgotten Blake is also a girl? Or do I need to remind you?"

 _Okay. That IS a good point._

"Then... _Just_ girl friend?" Ruby shrugged at the end of her own sentence. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with that statement, so... why did her heart suddenly beat faster with each second...

And why did Weiss' face turned redder than her own name?

There was a pregnant pause; one confusing for Ruby, that was, until...

"Fine," the heiress murmured, looking away a little bashfully, which served to double her confusion. "Girlfriend."

The brunette chose to, instead, punched the air above her and whooped in triumph.

"Yay!" she cheered. "I'm Weiss' girl friend!"

"Yes. You are my girlfriend." The heiress was looking at her in a fond matter that served to make her giggle even more. Ruby didn't understand why the older girl was still blushing the way she did, but she was just too happy to care.

Minutes later, Weiss' girlfriend (heh), turned on the recording button on her phone which had been placed on a table, her own eyes staring back from the small screen as she blinked.

"Okay. It's recording," the musician clarified.

From behind her, Weiss nodded and asked, "Shall we?" Not only were those the exact same words Ruby'd said, but the heiress had spoken those words in the same tone and manner as well.

 _She really is something else, is she?_ was what Ruby asked herself before they started to play.

* * *

 **So… that's that.**

 **White Rose reunited. Yay.**

 **Bumblebee kisses. Double yay.**

 **Fun fact: I intentionally made Ruby say "girl friend" (with a space) and Weiss "girlfriend"... heh. I wonder why? *insert Lenny face***

 **I hope you guys like this chapter. I had a lot of fun writing the Ruby and Weiss bit. Heh. They're cute.**

 **Oh, and don't forget to support me on P*treon under the same name~** **You'll get a little something special if you do ;)**

 **See you next week~!**


	20. Nicknames

**Hello guys, welcome back to my weirdly cute story!**

 **First of all, oh my god we're super close to hitting 100k words! I'm super happy, like, ALSDBFLDSBFBJDF, you know?**

 **Fun fact: this is the second hardest chapter I've written in F &GF, the first being chapter 11, where I rewrote it twice before settling in on mashing the two drafts together.**

 **It's kinda weird that this is really hard for me to write, especially since this is one of the shorter chapters in my story.**

 **But I feel like if I drag this on for too long, it'll just take the "special essence" out of it, ya know. It'll just be boring.**

 **Plus, I _love_ cliffhangers ;)**

 **Oh, and another thing is, unfortunately, I have some bad news.**

 **Some things came up and…**

 **Well, I'm going to have to pull another hiatus.**

 **I know, I know, it wasn't that long ago that this story was on a hiatus.**

 **But, well… I'll be going on a trip with my family and I won't be bringing my laptop so… what can you do about it :/**

 **So, yeah. I'm not abandoning this story. I'm only taking a break.**

 **For now, enjoy this cliffhang- I mean chapter~!**

* * *

"Do you... think people will watch it?" Ruby turned her head around to look at the heiress, who soundlessly was sipping the drink she'd brought from _outside_ the studio... since the vending machine only served pancakes.

Upon hearing her question, the heiress put the lid back on the bottle before answering, "They will." Her voice was a little raspy. That wasn't surprising, considering the notes she'd hit when they were recording… _Why does that sound inappropriate?_

The brunette nodded at the other girl's words, largely to convince herself than the older girl.

She looked down at her phone, rechecking for what was probably the third time that what they'd done really had been recorded. It always was better to be safe than sorry. At least, that was what Yang had always told her.

"You did well." Silver eyes blinked before meeting the steel gaze of blue.

Weiss was giving her that gentle smile again. The one that made her feel so... special.

It was a fact that Weiss Schnee was pretty. She simply had this natural beauty in not only her face, but the way she carried herself.

Ruby was sure everybody knew that.

However, she was unsure if everybody knew just how mesmerizing her smile was.

Her cheeks reddened. She beamed a little bashfully and replied, "It was-"

"It wasn't nothing." An eye-roll from the singer.

The red in her cheeks grew further. As much as Ruby didn't want to admit it... Weiss was right. Just like always.

Even until now, her fingers still stung.

But it _was_ worth it, in the end.

"Thanks," Ruby said, genuine.

Weiss nodded in acceptance but didn't utter any word, at least, not until she put a hand on the girl's shoulder and said, "People _will_ love it."

Ruby blinked twice in surprise. She hadn't expected that comment at all, let alone for it to come from Weiss, of all people.

Something tugged her heart and she suddenly couldn't take it; she threw herself into the unsuspecting girl's arms. A small part of her - the part which she ignored completely even though it was rational - wondered if the heiress would even be able to catch her.

Ruby figured out that answer soon enough.

Weiss... couldn't catch her.

Two "oomphs!" were heard. One sounded cuter than the other, in her opinion... It was Weiss'. Hers was cuter.

Ruby's eyes fluttered and looked down into Weiss' own.

She viewed and said nothing as those azure eyes unveiled an emotion of surprise, which then turned into recognition, before finally settling in on annoyance and exasperation.

"Dolt!" Ruby giggled at the insult-ish nickname, far too used to hearing it to be offended. "You're lucky I wasn't hurt," whispered the heiress, which made her laugh even louder... which made Weiss sigh.

Once her laughter had settled down, the brunette regarded the girl below her.

... That was when she realized what kind of position they were tangled in.

Her hands entrapped Weiss' petite form - each of them just next to her face, deeming her unable to move without causing Ruby to fall on top of her.

Their face was close to each other. So much so that she was able to smell Weiss' shampoo. It was a nice smell - though Ruby couldn't put a finger onto what the name of that kind of smell was, it was familiar. Oddly so.

Weiss' hands were holding her, definitely to keep her from falling down and hurting both herself and the older girl.

But... what she was holding was what... surprised Ruby, to say the least.

One hand held the side of her small hips, which, admittedly, caused her to want to shiver.

But the other...

The other was holding her collarbone - only one inch away from touching her... _her_... boo-

She was being pushed to the side very abruptly.

All of a sudden, the sight of a beautiful porcelain face was replaced by a bland grey ceiling.

Silver eyes blinked in confusion.

"Ouch?" Ruby didn't actually feel any pain. It just felt... appropriate to say so. Especially since she'd been pushed by the very person that had been holding her just seconds ago... without any warning whatsoever.

Weiss was standing up and looking down at her two seconds later.

A small part of her - the part which she hated and tried to suppress and bury - was disappointed that the heiress was wearing jeans...

Because Ruby couldn't see what was underneath the-

"A-are you just gonna lay there?" _What? Oh, right._ Ruby shook her head. "Is that a yes or a no?" Weiss frowned. The brunette merely shrugged, biting her cheek as a nonverbal way of saying how she herself was unsure of her own answer.

A delicate hand was extended towards her.

Ruby smiled as she gingerly accepted it. When she was up, she quickly dusted off her shirt.

When regarding the other girl, the brunette noticed her cheeks were pink. Frowning, she gently touched it, wondering, "Hey, are you sick?" The heiress shook her head rapidly but didn't make a move to move Ruby's hand away from her.

Yeah. As if that was convincing.

"Yeah, you're definitely sick," the brunette muttered, mostly to herself than the pink-faced singer in front of her.

"N-no, I'm not." Ruby ignored the ill girl's words and brainstormed for what she should do.

 _Should I take her back to her hotel and let her rest?_

That... seemed like the best option... but that would mean she wouldn't be near the heiress.

 _She doesn't seem to be THAT sick._

It was probably just exhaustion. Nothing too serious. Which meant she needed some food and rest... right?

Ruby looked around for something that might help the girl to get better.

 _Okay... food... food..._ Silver eyes widened when they found something of use. Bingo! she mentally cheered in her head.

"Ruby?" The girl in question ignored Weiss' demand and instead walked to the vending machine. Heh. The pancake machine. She then fished out a coin in her pocket and pushed it into the machine.

A few button-pressing later, Ruby was holding a pancake! Completed with a plastic spoon, fork, knife, and even a hammer! (For some reason).

"Here ya go!" she said, putting the lukewarm food - as well as the utensils - on the small table. Sure, it wasn't a warm soup or a medicine, but it was still food! Plus, it was also delicious.

"You... don't have to."

Hearing those modest words, Ruby simply grinned and said truthfully, "But I want to."

When Weiss blinked in confusion, her grin widened. Sometimes the star could act so silly as if being given something was some kind of... weird trick or something.

"Thank you," the heiress said, slowly walking towards the small couch, sitting down in a perfect posture.

Meanwhile, the brunette simply jumped towards it, flopping down and internally sighing in bliss at the small 'flop!' sound upon impact.

Ruby looked up at the ceiling. It was still as bland and grey as before.

Her mind, without herself realizing it, wandered.

It was crazy to think she and Weiss had only known each other for six months...

It was even crazier to think that this was only the second time they truly had encountered each other.

Yet... even so...

They still... 'clicked' the same way they did all those months ago.

That same spark was still there and thriving.

The spark that allowed Ruby to talk to Weiss without stuttering, to feel very safe and free around her.

The spark that allowed them to be able to talk to one another - even if it was only through texts and video-calls - without getting bored.

Ruby wasn't the type of girl who would usually believe such nonsense as fate or destiny...

But really...

Was there any other way to explain _this?_

 _To explain... us?_

"Here." Silver eyes blinked more than once as she readjusted herself back to the real world. Realizing whose voice it belonged to, Ruby turned her head to look at the heiress.

Weiss held a spoon towards her, on it was a slice of pancake.

The brunette also noted how pink her cheeks were, but wisely chose not to comment and instead grin and say, "You're the best."

With no hesitation, she took a bite out of it, humming in delight.

"I am your girlfriend," Weiss said, rolling her eyes.

The brunette giggled. "You sure are, Weissy!"

"... Weissy?" Her voice defined perplexion.

* * *

"... Blakey?"

Yang smiled, both because it was the perfect nickname and because how shocked 'Blakey' looked. Really, the faunus looked as if she'd just told her wizards were real, not just give her a totally awesome nickname.

"Yeah!" The blonde shrugged, acting nonchalant. "It's a cool nickname, don't you think?"

Blake simply rolled her eyes. Yang counted that as a win. If the noirette truly didn't like it, she would've said so. She also never verbally said she didn't like it, so...

It was still up for debate whether or not she approved of it.

The noirette looked up at the crescent moon, then to the hotel already in front of them.

They were mere feet away from their destination.

But Yang didn't want this to end. She didn't want to be further away from Blake. She didn't want to say "goodbye", or even "see you tomorrow".

She just... she wanted this moment to last for a long time... not for eternity... but close to it.

"Well, it's certainly... simple," said the musician, her voice monotone.

"But awesome!" Yang countered, her tone of voice contradicting Blake's own, being far more energetic and enthusiastic.

Blake looked at her, mirth displayed in those gold-like eyes as she tried to hold in her laughter. Eventually, she failed not-so-miserably.

"No," she said, clasping her mouth with her hand to try and control her giggles. "It really isn't."

Yang pouted. What was wrong with it? It was simple, yet elegant. It was quite an artistic genius! Sometimes things were better when it wasn't flashy! The simpler the better, right?!

"Well, I'd like to see you try to come up with something better," the blonde challenged, tilting her head upwards just so she could look down on Blake, giving the musician an all-knowing, cocky smirk.

She knew how much Blake loved a good challenge.

Upon seeing her, Blake's eyes narrowed and she gave a composed, mischievous smile in return.

"Perhaps I will." Yang laughed at the amount of determination filled in her tone of voice.

This was it.

This was one of the many, uncountable reasons why she wanted to be with Blake.

Yang could really be herself when she was around Blake.

It was cliche, sure, but it didn't make it any less true.

It felt like... it felt like there was this barrier that separated people she only said were her friends - people who acted like it - and... well... people like Blake.

Whenever the girl was close to her, she felt like she was an entirely different person. More herself. More _complete._

Yang's eyes quickly found their way to the entrance of the hotel.

Neither of them had taken even one step.

They both simply stood there, in the middle of the small, empty street, surrounded by the trimmed trees and bushes beside them, both the light of the great moon and the buildings preventing it to be eery or creepy.

"Hey, Blake?" Yang found herself asking.

Blake hummed. In the corner of her eyes, the blonde could see that she was looking at her with those all-too-familiar orbs of glowing amber.

"What do you think about... Ruby and Weiss?"

For quite a few moments, the rustling of the leaves and the feeling of the wind breezing to her face was all she sensed.

" I... don't know that much," Blake, eventually, responded. "Weiss wouldn't tell anyone, not even me."

From the way it was phrased, it was pretty obvious that Weiss' lack of communication bothered the noirette more then she'd let anyone know.

Blake had talked about the heiress many times. Each time, she'd spoken so highly of her.

Yang could already see the form of their relationship based on her words alone.

It was obvious that they view one another as best friends. Perhaps their relationship leaned more towards siblingship than friendship.

It was the main - and possibly only - reason why Yang didn't want to upset the heiress and tried her best to impress the singer that night... even though it wasn't really necessary in the end.

So, it wasn't that surprising to know that this had bothered her.

Hell, Yang was bothered as well.

"Yeah, same for Ruby." She said, her face twisting into a frown. "Just found out last night that they've been 'digitally hanging out'" She scoffed at the term. She would've used another, more refined one... but really, there was _no_ other way to explain them. "And now they're all buddy-buddies."

Another hum came from the other girl. This time, it was one of affirmation. Yang could only guess she deemed her words as relatable.

"I am proud of Weiss, though." Yang turned her head. Blake was looking down, a serene, small smile on her lips. "She rarely makes friends-"

"I can see that," Yang couldn't help but comment snarkily. It earned her a glare from the overprotective faunus, causing her to raise her hands in surrender, even if she still stood by what she said. "Sorry, please continue."

"Growing up in that type of environment..." Blake's face suddenly was one of bitterness. Yang was never the type to try and find out detailed pieces of information about people - not even about Blake, and she was her fan. Still, she knew what the noirette meant...

After all, there were rumors.

"Having that kind of man as a father..."

The blonde could only pray not all of them were true. She hoped those rumors were all just... blown out of portion and had been some kind of misunderstanding or silly accident. If not...

Yang couldn't even bear to think about it.

"It's hard for her to try to... blend in and talk with people her age..."

Despite the topic, Yang found herself smiling at the irony, or rather... the similarities between the singer and her own sister.

"Ruby's that way too." She paused when Blake gave her a bewildered look. "Ever since... our mom died, she... shuts herself off from the world." Yang had thought of telling the noirette about the state her father had been as well but decided against it.

She wasn't about to tell Blake the story of the shitty plot-twisting confusing drama that was her family life. Not yet.

This was about Ruby.

"I was the one who's gotta be there for her. Did my best to break her out of her shell." She smiled and shrugged absentmindedly. "Thought if I have a good amount of friends she'll want to make ones too, so, I... made lots of friends. It wasn't hard, of course, but if it weren't for her, then I wouldn't have done it." She took the opportunity to give another pause before chuckling not-so-happily. "Yeah. Look at how that worked out."

Ruby was still the socially anxious girl that she was. But... at least she didn't shut herself off from the world. She actually tried to make friends... as mentally painful those attempts may be.

She even made a few friends! Sure, Yang didn't think highly of them, but they and Ruby got along well, and that was what mattered.

"I guess we both have loners as sisters." Blake's unexpectedly very accurate statement caused Yang to blink. Then she laughed. The musician followed shortly after.

Yang's earlier hunch had been correct; Blake and Weiss viewed each other as sisters. Hell, they practically _were_ sisters.

Once their full-blown, uncontrollable was watered down into light snickers and chuckles, Yang determined it was the appropriate time to say, "Thanks for this date, Blakey. I really love it." Not as much as... Yang stopped herself before she finished that thought. Do not go there.

She felt a delicate hand pressing itself on her back, trailing up to her neck. Another was pressed against her cheek, its touch like a ghostly dust.

Before her mind comprehended it, Blake's face was very close to her own. Bits of inches apart.

"I love it as well... My Dragon." And with that, their lips crashed together into a hungry kiss. She was still unsure of who it was that pulled the other into a kiss...

Not that she cared.

* * *

"Wow..." It was amazing how brightly those silver eyes could shine. If the social norms allowed her too, Weiss would simply stare at it for more than just a few moments. "Rozē..." the girl whispered as if it were a name of an ancient relic, her mouth forming a little 'o'. "What does that mean?"

Weiss looked down at her now empty plate. Twirling its fork around, she looked up again only to smile and said teasingly, "That's for me to know."

Ruby gasped dramatically before whining not-so-playfully, "Weiss! That is so unfair!"

She shook her head and said no word. Standing up, she checked the time through her phone and figuring out that it was late - far too late for both of them to be hanging out in this type of place at this type of time.

"We should head back," she softly said.

The brunette blinked then look at her phone.

"Yeah... I guess we should..." murmured the younger girl, looking to the side as though she was still contemplating the options.

Weiss couldn't blame her.

Even she found herself denying the idea of leaving.

Well... she supposed she wouldn't be opposed to leaving this small, yet oddly pleasant studio...

But she would, with no doubt, be opposed to leaving the girl in front of her.

The same girl who still sat comfily on the couch, not moving a muscle, looking at her fidgeting fingers as if it was interesting.

For seemingly no reason, Weiss' eyes found their way into the lips of the young girl...

The naturally red, glossy lips...

... She wondered what it felt like... on her own lips.

 _No! Weiss!_ she chided herself. _Don't look at that! Look somewhere else!_

With that, her naughty eyes trailed down... onto the girl's chest.

As her already red cheeks reddened even more to the point where she could pass out at any moment, Weiss decided it was best to look back into those lips again...

It _was_ better than looking at the girl's chest. That was for sure.

... Honestly, when this was done, she really needed to get her eyes check.

There must be something wrong with it.

Why else would she suddenly want to taste Ruby's lips?...

 _Isn't that what girlfriends do?_ the more emotional and hopeful part of her mind asked.

 _Sure, but... weren't there... stages? Or tiers to this kind of situation?_ the more logistic side of her answered.

With an internal sigh, she declared to herself, _I need a manual..._

Seconds passed by. With each of it passing, the temptation grew stronger and she grew weaker.

After three whole minutes, she thought to herself as she slowly stood up from her seat, _Well, it's like they always say..._

 _Fuck._

"Ruby?" she asked, maintaining her voice to be proper and organized... the exact opposite of how she felt, basically.

Silver eyes looked up at her, curiosity filling them.

"Yeah?"

"... Close your eyes." Her voice was one that held no room for argument. She saw the brunette opened her mouth, no doubt to ask why, but before she could even do that, Weiss added, "It's important."

The younger girl bit her lip in nervousness, but gradually nodded and closed her eyes; complying with her wishes.

And with that, Ruby surrendered herself to her, not knowing what was about to happen, but trusting she wouldn't hurt her in any way...

Weiss suddenly feared she would hurt her.

But those fears were instantly abandoned and discarded away when she saw Ruby again - really looking at her.

Her mind was blank as she leaned in.

Oddly, she was... calm.

She looked at the girl in front of her.

The girl who was special to her in so many ways.

And she...

She placed her lips...

On Ruby's cheek.

A small peck. Nothing too serious. People did that all the time, correct? It wasn't special...

So...

Why did she feel like it was special?

And why did Ruby look at her that way?

She needed to...

She needed to leave.

She needed to get out of here - to calm down, to really gather her thoughts.

"I-it's getting late-"

"Weiss, wait-"

"See you soon, Ruby."

With that, her anxiousness and desire to escape reality drove her to leave the small studio... and the smaller girl inside it.

* * *

 **See? What did I say?**

 _ **Cliffhanger.**_

 **Poor Ruby… and Weiss… such useless lesbians. What'll happen to them now?**

 **If you want to get a glimpse of the next chapter, go check out my P*treon page under the same name: Clementine Davidson.** **On there, I've already posted, like, _1/3 of the entire chapter_ on that site.**

 **Oh! Another fun fact: Weiss Schnee is a German name. I have this small headcanon that Atlas' native language is the same as the German language. I know it's probably not true, but it's always fun to assume.**

 **So when Weiss wants to give Ruby her own nickname, I want it to be something German.**

 **… I googled what the word "rose" is in German. There are a few suggestions, but the one I picked for this chapter is what I liked the most.**

 **I apologize if there's something incorrect or plain-out insulting regarding the name Weiss chose for Ruby. I'm not German. So… yeah, sorry.**

 **Overall, this is a pretty short and sweet chapter. I added a bit drama in the end just to move the "plot" forward as well as White Rose's relationship.**

 **As cute as Ruby and Weiss are, Ruby needs to not be so innocent all the time. She needs to man up - or in this case "woman up/girl up" and face Weiss and her feelings.**

 **Being innocent isn't always good for you. Trust me.**

 **And yay! Bumblebee! I know Blake's nickname for Yang isn't all that original (at least in my opinion), but I just couldn't find anything else more fitting.**

 **Also, no, they didn't stop kissing after the scene ended. They didn't stop kissing for a long time…**

 **A very long time…**

 **Welp, I feel like I typed in everything I need to be said.**

 **Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I hope the cliffhanger in the end isn't horrible. If not, well… I'm not sorry.**

 **And with that, see you later! :3**


	21. Tension

**Hey guys, I'm back and it is the middle of the night and I really don't want to explain where I've been but long story short guests keep coming to my new house and there's this high school shit and apparently people think I'm a genius or something because holy shit my grades are the 28th highest in the entire school what the fuck is this a real life is this some fantasy I am super freaking out right now-**

 **Anyway, I really could just... you know, upload this tomorrow morning, but since tomorrow's a Saturday, and umm... since 10th grade's about to start, I don't think it'll be good for me to upload my stories on Tuesdays, so... from now on, I'll begin to upload on every Saturday. You know, just in case I need to be up all Tuesday night studying for an exam...**

 **Haha, I'm just kidding, I would never spend up all night studying on something I'll eventually forget. I'm not stupid...**

 **I'll be up all Tuesday night worrying about an exam instead of studying for it - like any normal student would do.**

 **So yeah... I'll be uploading this day - every day.**

* * *

Blake's eyes narrowed suspiciously when Sun let out an obviously fake cough.

She chose not to give him a single glance and continue to read her novel. If he wanted to say something, then he should just say it and not make her waste her time by trying to figure out what his 'coughing-code' meant.

The band was lounging in the hotel, waiting for their manager to come and pick them up to the show.

Currently, they sat separately on each of the couches in the lobby, dressed in either flannel shirts or simple t-shirts. She was the one who'd suggested it; they should try to dress more casually in the show, because not only was it comfortable, but they would be able to perform easier and better, especially she and Weiss, who had been wearing either high-heels or heavy boots - both of them were equally as _painful_ as the other - to each show up until now... it was a miracle they hadn't fell off the stage, let alone trip or stagger on their feet.

With a small sigh, Blake peered her eyes away from her treasured object of literature, trying to determine the state of her teammates. Her friends.

Weiss was peculiarly distracted. She had been since last night. Unlike typically, she wasn't holding her phone or practicing her vocal chords. Instead, she just sat there and gazed at the hands she placed on her laps.

The noirette had tried to coax the heiress into spilling what exactly happened that had rendered her into such a state. All Weiss did was either wordlessly touch her mouth and blush, or told her she didn't know what Blake was talking about... while also blushing.

Sun was also acting differently. But not in an odd way that would concern... rather, in a more aggravating way.

Even now, the loud sound of his fake coughs caused her teeth to clatter together and the grip on her novel tightening. Normally, she would've cared about the papers on her novel being damaged in some way...

However, this wasn't 'normally', was it?

The only non-weird thing about this whole situation was the ever-oblivious Neptune, who was humming a tune and playing with his phone.

Another fake and even louder cough caused her to finally snap, having enough of the blond's antiques.

She closed her book with more strength than necessary, let out a whiff of air, and demanded, "What is it, Sun?"

That blond... _child_ merely flashed her his infamous smile, not-so-subtly hiding the hint of skepticism in his voice as he faked his casualness. "Oh, you know, just... wondering what you and Yang were doing last night... And why you got back _super_ late..."

Blake did her best to glare at him even with the unappreciated red blush on her cheeks.

 _Why does HE care what Yang and I did?!_

"We weren't doing anything." Other than making out, telling each other about their sibling/best friend's oddness, making out, telling each other about their own oddness, and... making out.

... Oh, not to mention making out.

Yes. She and Yang obviously weren't doing anything… _that_ graphic… probably...

He hummed with a tone that translated to an unbelieving "Yeah, sure."

She groaned in not-so-mild annoyance and pointed out, "What about Weiss? She came back an hour later and you guys aren't making a big deal out of this!" The noirette looked at the heiress, who looked like she was a deer caught in the headlights. Yeah. As if _that_ wasn't suspicious. "Look at her!"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about, Blake!" Weiss responded in her usual uncaring tone, crossing her arms and letting out a "hmmph!"

The only difference was that her uncaring tone was an apparent facade.

Which suggested she _did_ know what the feline faunus was speaking of.

Which implied there was _something_ she was hiding, something big.

The only question was what it could likely be-

"Oh, looks like you and Ruby finally did that thing you guys always wanted," Neptune parroted with an easy-going smile, his eyes firmly placed on the screen of his mobile device. "And- wow, two million hits in less than twenty-four hours. That's big, even by _my_ standards."

Blake blinked; so did Sun.

"What?" the faunus boy asked, looking back and forth between the singer and keytarist with wide eyes. "Ruby? You mean that guitar girl that played your song that night?" he recalled, his voice growing higher. "The one who you talked! The girl who turns out to be a huge fan of-" He paused when the girl gave him her ice queen glare and gasped a little too dramatically. "No way!"

"Why didn't you tell us anything?" Blake inquired. _Why didn't you tell me anything?_ was what she actually wanted to ask. But she refrained herself, not wanting to leave Neptune and Sun out of this. They were her friends as well and deserved to know as much as she did.

Weiss looked up at her. Her lips were bitten and her eyes were filled with genuine guilt.

"I... didn't want you to think I'm acting weird," was the heiress'... supposed confession... which only served to double her confusion.

"What? Why would we think it's weird?" Sun asked what she and - most likely - Neptune was thinking.

There was hesitation in those misty blue eyes before they gazed elsewhere, consciously turning her head to where they couldn't see her expression. Typical Weiss.

"C'mon, Weiss. You can tell us," coaxed Blake.

"Yeah!" Neptune added with a cheer, throwing his fist up. "We're a team!"

"We've been stuck together for almost two years, now," Sun said, not without a welcoming grin. "We know _all_ of each other's secrets."

"We're practically family," the black-themed girl concluded, wearing a smile of her own; small though still as warm and welcoming.

Weiss' resolve cracked, visibly shown by how her shoulders sagged and how she let out a huge breath of surrender.

"Fine," she looked up at them with pink cheeks - which, in Blake's opinion made her look younger and cuter. "I just... don't want you... antagonizing her."

Blake blinked at her words. Before she could even think of something to say, Sun gaped and repeated, "Antagonizing? What do you mean antagonizing?"

Weiss' eyes shifted to meet Blake's own, quietly asking the older girl to help her with trying to explain things. But how was she able to?

"I think she means is that you go way overboard when you're trying to be intimidating." Surprisingly, it was Neptune who, with little concern, dropped the truth bomb to the drummer.

There was a moment of silence where each and every member dragged themselves into a state of a different kind of shock.

The quiet was broken by the monkey faunus who turned to Blake and asked, "Is this true?"

The other faunus chose her words before slowly questioned, "Is what true?"

The normally sunny blond narrowed his eyes and stated with a flat tone, "You know why." It left her no room for denial.

How was she supposed to answer such a... difficult question?

She could either try to lie in an attempt to spare his feelings. But either he or the others - especially the very observant Weiss - would notice her dishonesty and call her out on it.

Or she could just flat out tell the truth... and risk... saddening him.

"Well..." she started, still unsure which decision she should choose. "I just-"

"Children." All heads snapped towards Glynda, their manager - in Blake's case, her knight in shining armor, who was about to whisk her away from her trouble. "Let's go."

As she finally seated herself in the vehicle, Blake did her best to occupy herself by either playing with her phone or reading her book...

She also did her best to ignore the glance Sun gave her throughout the whole car ride.

* * *

"Okay, Rubes, seriously. What the frick happened? And why do you keep touching your cheek like it's made out of _diamond_ or something?"

The brunette in question blinked twice before she realized where she'd put her hand... which was on her cheek...

More specifically...

The cheek Weiss Schnee had... had...

"Hello~? Remnant to my favorite little sister?" A hand was annoyingly being shaken right in front her face. She swatted it away. Yang grinned widely as she faced her. "So, spill the beans!" her big sister demanded.

"There are no beans to be spilled," Ruby deadpanned, internally blaming her growing blush on the hot weather.

Yang pouted as she fiddled with her key. "Okay..." she sighed in reluctance. Only to give her an even brighter grin a second later. "Spill the cookies!"

Ruby gasped with the right amount of drama. "No!" The brunette realized her sister was only joking when she burst out laughing. Glaring, she warned, "Don't you _ever_ mess with _my_ cookies!"

The blonde's laughter was reduced into a fit of snickers as she finally put her key into her bike. She twisted it and the desired effect - the roaring sound and vibration of the engine starting - came at a later moment.

The brunette dutifully put on her helmet. It wasn't as fancy as Yang's was, but it suited her perfectly and it did the job... Plus, it was also black... her second favorite color.

However, as Yang put her two hands on the handle of her baby, she turned to look at Ruby and asked, "Seriously, though, you will tell me what happened sooner or later."

Ruby gradually nodded.

Yang didn't stagger or flinch as she placed herself experiencedly on her own ride. In two swift motions, she was ready to break the speed limit.

Ruby, on the other hand, did stagger and flinch. Her clumsy hands had quite a trouble finding a good grip. And she ended up awkwardly having to reposition herself twice with her sister's guidance.

She'd always feared this ride ever since she first saw it. She still did today, and was positive would still fear it in the near future.

It was times like this where she wondered just how on Remnant was she and her sister related.

And she wasn't only referring to their physical difference.

Their personalities seemed to be the polar opposite of one another.

Yang was the life of the party, she was the one people depended to tell awesome stories.

Whereas Ruby...

 _When was the last time I even WENT to any parties?_ she asked herself, bothered at her blank memory.

Then her eyes widened as she asked herself the more critical question, _When did I ever even GO to a party?_

When she didn't recall anything, she could only think of one thing to... well, think. _Frick._

She had never been to any party before.

What had she been doing her whole life?

"Might wanna hold onto me, Sis," her sister said, voice sounding static-y through the helmet, but still audible.

Ruby then snaked her arms around her waist, pulling herself close to Yang as a leverage, gulping.

Crap.

Yang was already reckless in many _daily_ activities.

She knew from first-hand experience how much more rash she could be when her baby was involved.

... She was the reason why Ruby preferred to walk or catch a bus.

"H-hey, Yang?" she said as Yang slowly readied herself to take off. "Maybe we can- EEP!"

With that, the big sister that ignored her rode her big, scary-sounding, dangerous-looking bike, not acknowledging her scream or her iron grip on her waist.

The world around her seemed to fade into a blur, and she shut her eyes from fear of many things... mostly the speed, though.

Sounds kept changing, being substituted each millisecond.

There were dogs barking. Then people chatting. Then cars honking. Then more people chatting.

It was hard to grasp.

But... maybe... maybe this wasn't so bad.

She dared herself to open one eye.

Everything was a blur.

But that was what was enticing.

She could still make up a view of the buildings around her, the people inside or near those structures.

And... she guessed the drowned-out noise made things a little better.

It cleared her mind and made her body feel a little... lighter, in some ways.

... It made her think about Weiss.

... Weiss.

What... what _happened_ that night?

Why did she suddenly kiss her that way?

She could remember the way her breathing stopped when she felt Weiss hovering over her, impending into her.

Even with her eyes closed, Ruby could envision it with her mind.

The beautiful, porcelain face. So clear, so refined.

Sometimes, when she looked at the girl's face, she wondered if it truly was the face of a person, or if it was a painting - a work of art. Because there was no way a real person could look like that, right? Just... no way.

It was a silly thought, looking back at it. She often thought of that before she met Weiss.

But even now she still found herself wondering at times.

And the thin line on her eye, serving to make her much more intriguing and extraordinary than she already was.

People say it made her imperfect.

But she would prefer the term strong. Strong for being brave enough to still walk with such stride, such confident, despite her so-called flaw.

Weiss was such an... _astounding_ person in so many ways.

Ruby truly liked her. Really liked her.

And not _just_ as a friend.

But as what?

... And, again, _what is UP with that kiss?!_

Was it a friendly gesture?

Then... why did Weiss suddenly act the way she did? _Leave_ the way she did?

Her face was so red. She was stuttering and stammering and couldn't find balance in her own body.

And...

Why did the kiss felt so... nice?

It was so different from the way Yang used to peck her.

It was much more... intimate...

The term 'intimacy' itself already sent her heart soaring and jumping out of her control.

What was it? What happened back then?

Ruby needed to know. She had to.

There was no way she could ever forget that. No way she could try to act like she usually would around Weiss even if she tried.

Something... something had changed...

Ruby didn't know what it was or what it meant, but she needed to find out.

She needed to speak to Weiss.

But... maybe she should think things through before she did it - figure out a way to approach the heiress without being too forceful or rude or awkward... or something.

 _Yang will know what to do,_ a part of her mind suggested.

Of course she would.

Yang was not just any extrovert, she was the extrovert. Though, the blonde did try to tone her 'extrovertness' down when college rolled in, fearing she might not be able to pass in flying colors.

If anyone could help her out with this, it should be her big sister, who she could - most of the time - rely on.

Now was the perfect time to ask. Yang had said she was taking her to a 'chill place', which should mean somewhere quiet and reserved, right?

She could totally ask the blonde what Weiss' kiss meant!

The memory of Weiss kissing her came back...

Ruby'd found out, at that moment, how soft a pair of lips could be.

"See! You're doing it again!"

Ruby blinked a few times as her mind came back to reality.

She noticed a few things.

First and foremost, they had stopped.

Secondly, Yang was off her bike and looking at her with a half-hearted glare.

And lastly, her fingers were pressed against the spot where Weiss' lips had touched her.

"O-oh, um." Without offering any real answer, Ruby jumped down from her sister's bike. She put her hands in her pocket and instead observed the scenery around her. They were in a parking lot. But... there didn't seem to be any restaurant. "Where are we?"

"Right now, on Remnant," her sister jokingly answered, wearing that grin which told her she wasn't going to take things seriously.

Ruby glared at her.

Yang chuckled and ruffled her hair, causing her to try and swat her hands away, but to no avail.

Eventually, the blonde replied, "We are in a mall."

Ruby blinked. "Didn't you say we're going to a chill place?"

The mall was anything but a chill place, especially on a weekend like today.

"No, I said we're going somewhere chill," the blonde said... as if that made sense.

"Yeah..." Ruby bit her lip before carefully choosing the right words to ask. "And by that you mean...?" she tempted.

"Hunters and Huntresses' concert!" Yang cheered.

Ruby rose her eyebrows.

Hunters and Huntresses.

Blake was in that band.

Oh. Weiss was also in it too.

Weiss...

Wait! Weiss was in it!

Shi- _Shoot!_

"I thought you said we're going to somewhere chill!" Ruby called out.

Yang cocked her head to the side, slightly confused by her sister's sudden outburst. The blonde didn't know what happened that day. How _could_ she understand?

"Yeah. The theme they're going for today is chill," she said with a small shrug. "At least, from what I've heard."

"B-b-but-"

Yang rolled her eyes. Not taking no for an answer, she literally yanked Ruby away to the entrance of the building.

"Why're you so worked up, anyway?" the blonde asked with a raised eyebrow. She didn't seem too concerned. Ruby had a feeling it was because she wanted to meet a certain black-haired bassist.

"Well, I..."

Ruby didn't want to tell Yang about what happened that day. She knew Weiss didn't want anyone to know, judging by the way she looked after she'd done that relationship-changing act. So she decided to purse her lips and look away.

She sensed Yang's gaze looming over her for a few seconds before they were directed back at what was ahead.

Ruby guessed Yang must've sensed that she truly didn't want to talk about it. Otherwise, she'd be doing anything - such as bribing, blackmailing, and poking her - to get her to talk about what was bugging her.

 _But you DO need her advice,_ the more rational part of her brain argued.

 _I don't wanna tell her about Weiss kissing me! Who knows what Yang will do!_ the even more rational part of her brain countered.

An internal sigh. _Fine. We'll just compromise._

 _... Did I just refer to myself as 'we'?_

"Hey, Yang?" Ruby called out before her mind got even more insane... _insaner? ... More insane? Which is-_

"Yup?" Oh, right, back to the topic.

She didn't want to ask something ridiculously specific out of the blue like 'Hey if the famous singer Weiss Schnee kisses you on the cheek, does that mean she's into you?'

She needed to choose her words very carefully, or else Yang might figure it out. She could be insanely perspective despite how she acted.

... Come to think of it... there was this one time Weiss said she was her girlfriend... and... at the time, the brunette didn't think much of it...

But now...

"If... if someone calls you their girlfriend... What does that mean?"

Yang didn't try to hide her expression of pure interest and slight merriment. In fact, she expressed it to the girl very clearly.

Ruby didn't say a word. She merely looked back to her sister.

The blonde thankfully caught the message that she didn't want to tell her more and answered rather simply, "Well... it depends, really."

Puzzled, she asked, "Depends on what?"

Yang gave her a strained smile; Ruby glowered.

She didn't want to tell Yang anything - not until the air between she and Weiss was clear as day and cool as night.

"It's Weiss, isn't it?"

The brunette looked up at her big sister with eyes so wide they actually hurt.

"How'd you know?!" she immediately questioned.

Yang gave her an all-too-familiar smile. It was the same kind of smile she would use whenever she knew Ruby was in trouble and trying to hide it.

Briefly, her mind wandered back to the older days - days where life was more exciting, as were things within it.

She'd remembered a specific memory of her being in trouble in school. She didn't remember why that was - she just remembered trying her best to act nonchalant when she went home.

She recalled Yang looking her in a small glance and quickly asking what happened. When she'd asked how she known, Yang gave her that smile.

The smile she was giving now.

"I'm your sister, Rubes," Yang said, putting a hand on her shoulder, rubbing it in a way she must've known calmed her down. "Of course I know. Plus," the blonde grinned jokingly, "who else could it be? Jaune? Ugh!" She shook her head, looking genuinely terrified of the thought, which upset her a little.

"Hey, c'mon, Jaune isn't so bad," Ruby said, trying to defend her good friend.

"Yeah, but he's... blonde."

Ruby didn't think she could ever hear such a stupid word. She wasn't sure if any word could be stupider than that.

"Yang... _you're_ blonde."

Hearing that, the blonde cringed and shook her head, muttering, "Rubes. He's blond, but he's so... him. It really puts a bad rep for all the other blondes, including- no, especially me."

"I..." Ruby frowned. "I don't get it."

"You can never, Ruby," Yang said, her face suddenly somber and voice wistful and echoing.

The way she was acting reminded the younger girl of an ex-veteran soldier reminiscing about the war he was in.

Only the war is about having something as simple as yellow hair and the ex-veteran soldier was a girl who loved puns and foods and Blake.

Shortly after, they'd arrived at the designated place.

Yang took out her two tickets and, after many squandering and pushing themselves throughout the cramped place, they finally made it.

And as soon as they did that, Ruby did the only reasonable thing an introverted teenage girl would do...

Pull out her phone and started scrolling through her social media accounts.

She began to read this article that - apparently - contained big news.

 _ **Hunters and Huntresses have a NEW MEMBER?!**_

 _ **Possible member REPLACEMENT?!**_

 _ **WEISS SCHNEE'S NEW FRIEND?! (or maybe even more?!)**_

The last one got her attention. So she clicked on it, thinking it must be one of those crazy fan theories which had little to no chance of actually being real.

I am, or was, friends with Weiss Schnee, and she never told me anything about a new member or a new friend... heh, this must be fake.

... But it wasn't, Ruby realized seconds after she began reading...

Because they were talking about _herself!_

What... what is this?

Pictures of her and Weiss were being posted. Ones of them while they were at that studio.

Then did she realized they were talking about the video Ruby had uploaded literally one day ago - less than 24 hours.

... And people were already shipping her with Weiss.

 _What. The. CHOCOLATE CAKE._

* * *

When Yang checked the time for the literal tenth time in the past hour and noticed that there was still no sign of her girlfriend and her friends, she knew something was up. Whatever that something was.

She looked at the people around her and realized that some of them were beginning to feel just as uncomfortable as she was.

Yang wasn't one to believe the band would be late. Not this kind of late, at least.

She had a feeling either Glynda or Weiss - or both - would always force the others to always arrive on time.

Who knows? the calmer part of her mind stated. Maybe this is part of the... act... or something... Maybe they're going to give us some sort of surprise!

So she abandoned her darker train of thought.

But nothing happened even after she let half an hour past.

And she was getting more than a little worried for Blake... oh, yeah, also Weiss and Neptune and Sun, but mostly Blake.

"Hey, Rubes?" she whispered to the brunette. The young girl didn't respond. She merely kept scrolling through her phone with such a serious face and a red blush which made her slightly wonder what she was looking at. "Rubes?" she called out again in a louder tone. The girl _still_ didn't respond.

Yang took a drastic measure; she grabbed the teenager's phone without warning.

"Wha- h-hey! Yang! Give it back!"

"Neither of our girlfriends are here. It's been over an hour." Upon seeing Yang's tense face and even tenser words, Ruby's anger disappeared.

The young girl looked around as well, noting the confused murmurs of the audience.

"When's the show supposed to start?" she asked once she looked back at her older sister.

Yang fumbled with her phone before answering, "Two hours ago." It was a little ridiculous, now that she thought more of it.

"Weiss would never let this happen," Ruby said, without missing a beat. "She hates being late," the girl added. She bit her lip. "Something's... something's wrong."

Immediately, Yang grabbed her phone. "Call Weiss," she told her sister.

"Yang... you have my phone." The blonde wordlessly tossed her phone towards the girl and, using her own phone, dialed her favorite bass player of all time.

Seconds passed. No answer.

That was alright, she supposed. Blake was most likely just very busy.

 _More_ seconds passed. Still no answer.

Yang looked at Ruby, who had her phone in her ear. When the brunette looked back at her, she said, "Weiss isn't answering." Looking away, she murmured in a soft, albeit cracked tone, "She always answers..."

The blonde raised an eyebrow but chose not to comment. Not right now, at least.

She looked around to find some way they could find out what was happening. Maybe... maybe-

 _There! A security guard!_ Or at least, someone who definitely worked for the band - judging by his black suit, walkie-talkie, and badass-looking sunglasses.

After grabbing Ruby's wrist rather firmly, she made her way through the busy crowds until she was closer to him.

The dude was walking somewhere - he looked to be in a hurry - so it was hard to grab his attention.

She yelled several times but to no avail. They followed him as he went through the backstage, going deeper and deeper into what Yang assumed must be the place for preparing instruments, judging by the many guitars, basses, and amps being displayed there.

Eventually, the guard stopped when he was in front of a door. Said door opened a little and he whispered something to it before it closed again.

The guard immediately stood beside the door in a guarding position.

Now was their chance.

Yang slowly walked towards him, Ruby following closely behind, hiding in Yang's bigger figure in either fear, or embarrassment, or both.

"Excuse me, Sir?" she asked timidly, deliberately acting far more polite than she would usually.

The guard looked at her and flatly asked, "What?"

Yang wasn't wavered by his act. "Might I ask why the show hasn't started yet?"

Even with wearing glasses, she could see his features crinkling into a frown.

"That is none of your concerns."

Yang was slightly taken aback by his words and the harsh way he had said those words. This might be harder than she initially thought.

"U-um, actually, Sir," Ruby said, slowly revealing herself from behind Yang. She'd been quiet until now. "It is our concern," she said sternly. "You see," she began after taking a deep breath, "both of us actually know-"

"Are you the new member?"

Yang blinked.

Seconds later, she was able to half-coherently stutter out, "Wai- Hold on- I-I'm sor- _Pardon?_ "

If he'd heard her words, he most likely chose not to give a single damn about it.

"Yeah, you must be, right?" he opened the door and gestured Ruby to come inside. "What are you waiting for? They must be waiting for you!"

Yang's eyes found Ruby, a silent communication being displayed through those two words.

It was true that Yang was very confused and, admittedly, slightly disturbed by his words, but their main goal now was to get to their girlfriends' band and figure out what the hell was going on.

Ruby was silently telling her the same thing.

So, after briefly nodding towards each other, Ruby turned to look back at the slightly confused guard and said with fake confidence, "Alright." Before walking in with an even faker stride, Yang following behind her rather quickly before the guard told her she couldn't come.

"Alright, I don't know what the _hell_ he was talking about back there, but good job," Yang said shortly before stopping in front of a door with a star sign on it - the universal sign of it being the room for the stars of the show.

She looked at Ruby. Her little sister gave her a small, slightly fearful nod.

With hopes that nothing too bad was going on, she opened the door.

* * *

 **Yup, sorry for the cliffhanger. But this chapter is already 5k(ish) words already and, well, you know my rule; I try to keep it around 3k-5k. I had to cut off the bottom half of this chapter and make it another one because this chapter's already super long. I didn't plan for this to be a cliffhanger... but it is.**

 **If you're interested in what happens next you can visit my P*treon under the same name and get a little sneak peek.**

 **Anyway, I've still got jet lag from just coming home, plus I haven't really gotten much sleep lately because I forced myself to wake up early so I wouldn't miss my flight (damn traffic) and... yeah, sorry for rambling.**

 **Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Also, it's been quite a while, so, how have you guys been doing these past couple of weeks? My weeks have been insane in too many ways.**

 **So I should probably get to sleep now... comment to me what you think of this chapter, or anything nice... I'd love to be able to wake up in the morning reading some nice or funny reviews XD**

 **Goodnight guys.**


	22. Unexpected

**Oh, so in the last chapter, my sleepy-self forgot to write two very important milestones I've achieved, so I... I'll talk about it now:**

 **OH MY GOD I HIT 100k WORDS! _AND_ 300 FOLLOWERS!**

 **THAT'S TWO MILESTONES, YOU GUYS. SERIOUSLY, I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH. REALLY, I COULD _NEVER_ HAVE ACHIEVED THIS WITHOUT YOU! YES, _YOU!_ THE ONE READING THIS! YOU ARE _AMAZING_ AND I THANK YOU FOR FAVOURITING, REVIEWING, AND FOLLOWING MY STORY!**

 **You guys are seriously what keeps me motivated to keep on writing. If none of you have ever commented on all those nice and meaningful things, I would never be here. I probably would've... I don't know, abandon this story really early.**

 **So, again, thank you, guys. Thank you _so much._**

 **And now, let us all enjoy this chapter, shall we? :)**

* * *

"How could this have happened?!"

Normally, Weiss was never afraid of Glynda Goodwitch. Why should she? The woman did countless things for her. She was who got her to where she was now - she literally made the heiress a star.

Furthermore, Weiss wasn't Neptune nor Sun.

She never would let herself get into trouble. It was always a mistake on her part. Or even if there was trouble, she was never the one who started it.

And... most importantly, Goodwitch saved her from the disheartening, abusive, sorry excuse of a family.

Weiss would've never feared the woman...

... Until now.

"I don't know!" Neptune cried out. His face was buried with sweat despite the airconditioned-room. Each breath he took was anything but deep or calm.

In any other situation, Weiss would have sought to calm him down before things get worse. Much worse.

Although... With her manager acting the way she was as of current...

Weiss didn't risk move more than necessary.

She didn't dare utter a word.

In a twisted, bitter way...

What she was seeing right now...

How Glynda was acting...

It reminded her of home.

 _No. That's NOT home. That will NEVER be my home._

It boggled her mind; she once thought of that hollow, vain, dictatorial mansion as a place that she could feel safe and protected.

She was never home.

Not with her father.

Not with his eyes following wherever she went, not unlike a predator.

Not with him always ordering nothing but perfection from her.

Everything she did must be excellent.

 _Everything._

That man who was only a father by name wanted everyone to see just how perfect his legacy was.

In this case, his legacy as someone who would one day take over his company.

And that someone happened to be her.

It was never about anything other than that.

It was never about how happy his family was - just about how perfect they were.

It... was never about how happy _she_ was.

It was never about happiness.

"How could you have lost it?!" the blonde woman charged, her emerald eyes flickering with such intensity it made her cringe. "Did you even packed it this morning?!"

"I-I did!" the blue-haired boy responded aloud. "I remember playing my keytar just this morning!"

"Then where is it?!" she hissed, her tone much more ferocious and biting than Weiss would've liked - than anyone would've liked.

It triggered more memories of times the singer wished she could never remember.

 _That's enough._

She made the move to stand but froze when she felt a strong hand resting on top of her lap.

Weiss' agitated gaze found Blake's apprehending one.

The faunus shook her head. That was all she did.

Weiss looked back and forth.

On her front was her manager and friend carrying an argument didn't seem to be dwindling any time soon.

But, on her left was Blake, who was looking at her with a frown that told her the dangers of involving herself.

Her dilemma was momentarily forgotten when someone slammed the door open - that someone turning out to be Sun.

He didn't carry his usual bright persona. Not even an ounce of it.

It was... uncomforting to see the absence of his smile.

This entire predicament unsettled her.

"It's not in the car," the blond faunus said.

"Dammit!" Glynda said, stomping on her heels, the sharp noise causing Blake to jolt. This time, it was Weiss who put a hand on her lap, though as means to comfort her and not much else. The singer was very sure that had the blonde woman been holding something, she would've thrown that object and let it crash. "What do we do now!?"

There was knocking on the door, not after a long while.

The blonde woman took a few deep breaths and tried to act calm for the sake of the band. Keyword; act. Everyone who had eyes and functioning brain knew she was very stressed out.

Scratch that, even a blind man could sense her distress.

The door opened to reveal a guard, who looked anxious, although not as much as the rest of them were.

"Ma'am, everyone's waiting-"

"I know!" Glynda snapped. This time, Weiss flinched and barely managed to stifle a whimper.

The guard in question slowly closed the door, not wanting to bother the obviously stressed manager in any way.

The blonde woman took another, longer sigh, taking off her glasses only to massage her temples. A small bit of her mind wondered if perhaps her glasses dizzied her.

"Alright..."

Her manager took a deep breath and looked at them all, one by one, her face softened more and more the longer she stared at each of them, no doubt seeing how rigid and tense they all were.

Despite her distant, stoic appearance, Glynda had never once shouted at the team.

She'd never yelled at them even when they'd done something wrong.

She would only sigh in disappointment and give them the punishment she deemed was appropriate.

She would never shout. Until today.

This was... this was the first time this had ever happened.

It was quite understandable - in Weiss' opinion - that everyone was silent in both fear and shock, the latter moreso than the former.

Even the usually chatty Sun just stood there, frozen. The heiress could see it being displayed on his features; he knew to say something - anything - would do more harm than good.

"What about buying a new one?" the manager suggested. "There must be a keytar somewhere in this mall." Judging by the tone itself, Weiss knew it was a feeble suggestion.

Each member of the band looked at each other, save for Neptune, who was still shaking and trembling as if he was about to give a speech he wasn't prepared for... Actually, that was far better than what the actual truth was.

At last, it was Blake who gathered the courage to state, "This isn't a big mall. I... doubt there's even any music store, let alone..."

Honestly, this place shouldn't even be labelled a mall.

She hadn't even heard of this place until recently.

The so-called 'Kuroyuri Mall'.

After doing a lot of research to quell her interest, she'd found that this mall was originally supposed to be the biggest mall there ever was - lots of rich folks gathering around to supposedly work together to build it.

But, when they had begun building, everyone just... stopped donating money.

They all had _abandoned_ this place.

So the workers simply finished it in a rush - not caring about officially opening it, or anything, really.

The mall just... came to be... appearing without any announcement.

Which explained many things.

Such as why she could count the number of shops there on her hands.

And... why there were _no_ food courts.

"I'll..." Glynda did a release of breath, determined to steady herself. "I'll have the guards look around, just in case." Light green eyes gleamed with a drive of wanting to do something - anything. "All of you, stay here. I'll grab the instrument myself. Hopefully, the traffic won't be as bad as it was before."

It was a futile hope. Weiss was sure no one in the room actually believed there would be a chance of their manager returning with Neptune's instrument in less than an hour.

It certainly took them more than that long to even arrive at this time.

They were late enough as it was.

But, really, what else can the woman do?

Hoping her eyes didn't show how scared she was, Weiss nodded. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the others doing exactly that; only that.

With that, Glynda left.

Sun's fist met the unsuspecting wall. "Shit!"

Weiss gulped, resisting the urge to cower even more.

She hated this.

Not that they were late to some damn show.

Not that she was wearing clothes that were far too casual and odd-looking for her taste despite it being comfortable.

But the fact that Glynda was angry, Sun was - for lack of a better word - pissed, Neptune was barely able to stand on his own, especially with how badly he was shaking, and Ruby-!

 _... Ruby..._

Where should she even begin...?

She was... she was the first person she had ever truly befriended outside of her role as a lead singer and heiress.

She was a good friend.

A close friend.

A really close friend...

Yet...

Yet, she had ruined everything. She had let her stupid feelings take over her actions - something she'd promised herself never to do again, something she'd never done for a very long time.

... She _hated_ this.

She desperately wanted everything could go back to normal.

She wished she could just pretend she never had any feelings for the young girl...

But now, there was no way she could fake it. Not anymore.

Ruby was endearingly naive, but even she had her limits.

Weiss knew the brunette must've suspected something.

And she was positive that something wouldn't be far from the truth.

A few close friends and family members kissed each other's cheek like that, sure, but the way Weiss had run off the way she did proved it was something more; much more.

... The worst part was how she didn't plant her lips where her heart wanted to.

It was a peck on the cheek.

It wasn't what she desired.

What she desired was-

A metallic sound could be heard as the entrance door slowly opened.

Peeking out of it were a pair of lilac eyes and a long, shiny yellow-

"Yang?!"

Weiss blinked at Blake's declaration and did a double-take.

The blonde in question revealed herself by opening the door, relief etched on her face. She stood there a little awkwardly as if unexpecting there to be these many people in the room.

Blake stood up and walked over to her girlfriend, no doubt shocked.

Yang grabbed both of her shoulders and heaved a great sigh, a relieved smile present. "Blake, oh thank Dust you're alright!"

The bass-player looked puzzled at those words and asked, "What do you mean I'm-" she shook her head, deciding to ask the more prominent question. "What are you doing here?"

The blonde raised an eyebrow, a mixture of emotions on her face; mostly pride. "What do you mean what I'm doing here?" The heiress scowled at the improper use of grammar. Honestly, how could someone like her attend such a highly praised school? "I'm your girlfriend, of course I'll be here!"

And with that, Weiss realized she would not want to hear any more from them, knowing the pair would speak things she - or anyone for that matter - really shouldn't hear.

Misty blue eyes trailed elsewhere.

To the clock on the wall, ticking mercilessly without a care other than to do its job.

To the drummer of her band, who looked torn between wanting to stop the PDA those two lovebirds were... displaying, or wanting to leave them be. She couldn't blame him, truthfully, Blake and Yang had only seen each other for seconds and now they were trapped in their own little world.

"Weiss?" That soft familiar voice made her eyes widened.

Her head whipped to the entrance door, only now realizing Yang hadn't come alone.

Her small figure apprehensively persisted there, looking back and forth between everyone that was in the room, before her silver eyes finally settled in on a snowy blue.

"Weiss." Ruby's voice was much firmer, and slowly, she straightened herself, her posture seemingly taller than ever before as she walked towards the singer in question.

Weiss could only stare.

The brunette walked so gently, so carefully. Her eyes were a little wary, but mostly just relief, with a hint of confusion.

After a time she was uncertain of, Ruby was right in front of her, locking eyes with her.

Weiss didn't know what to do.

She opened her mouth, intent to apologize, or greet her, or say anything.

"What's wrong with him?"

Yang's urgent tone forced them both to look away from each other and onto the blonde in question.

"He... sometimes he gets like that before or during shows," answered the timid Blake. "It normally goes away after a few minutes."

When Weiss glanced back at Ruby, she was surprised to not find worry, but recognition.

The blonde girl looked at Ruby with a similar look of her own.

"Ruby... did you bring your emergency pill?"

Weiss didn't have the strength nor courage to ask what they meant by pills. She just stared at the two siblings with dumbfoundedness.

When Ruby nodded, Yang gestured towards the blue-haired boy, who was being held by the drummer. The blond faunus was looking at them warily - almost predatorily.

The brunette fished out from her pockets, and moments later, revealed a small zipped bag filled with blue-colored pills.

She took one of them out of the bag and hand it out to Neptune, who was looking at the small medicine with curious, albeit glassy eyes.

"What are you giving him?" Sun asked, no doubt worried and scared for his closest friend.

Ruby answered, "I'll explain later."

Sun wasn't convinced. His dark shade of blue eyes found her light ones.

It was obvious that he didn't want his friend to be given random pills that might do him more harm than good, but at the same time, she trusted Weiss more than his own judgment and therefore, silently asked her if he should trust the young girl.

There was no hesitation in her eyes as she nodded; Ruby could be trusted. She could always be trusted.

Unlike Weiss herself.

Sun's eyes widened briefly at what she was essentially telling him. In a flash, he appeared with a water bottle and gave it to Neptune. "Drink this," he softly told the ill boy.

Neptune consumed the medicine, not knowing what was in the mysterious pill, but trusting his friend enough to do what he was told by Sun... who trusted her enough to order him to do such a thing.

What an odd band.

Ruby looked at him levelly, gazing him with something in her eyes akin to understanding, a sad understanding. "It'll take at least half an hour before it really takes effect..." She gave him a half-hearted smile in an attempt to calm him - or anyone else - down. "You might get a little drowsy."

"T-thank you," muttered the blue-haired musician.

"It's... It's no problem." There was a harrowing aura in the girl's tone as she spoke. Weiss dreaded to find out what caused such a feeling and what it meant.

"Alright," Sun spoke, standing up and looking at everyone in the room separately. "Will somebody tell me what's-"

"Ma'am."

All heads whipped to the guard that stood there.

Weiss was the first to react, knowing he must be addressing the female in charge, and that female was her, the leader of the band.

"Yes?" she answered, maintaining a professional and unwavering stance, a calm and composure that had been drilled into her earlier than she could ever remember; something of an act she'd always done subconsciously at this point.

Through his black-shaded lenses, the man regarded her carefully, almost nervously, perhaps. The heiress would soon find out it wasn't hard to figure out why.

"Four people have left and demanded their refunds. Will the show still go on?"

There was a tinge of nervousness coming from even him; a man who only did his job as he was told.

Weiss couldn't even begin to describe how the rest of them were feeling.

How her band was feeling.

How she was feeling.

"Just... just give us another..." What was she supposed to say? Another minute? Another hour? That, she was uncertain. But Weiss was certain of one thing and one thing only.

"Just give us time." As much as they could be given.

Everyone's gaze was lingering towards her, but she maintained her steady, confident posture, face, voice; everything.

She maintained her facade.

The guard paused briefly before nodding solemnly, leaving them alone with a click of a closed door.

A pause filled with thick tension, confusion, fear, and so much more.

A pause that didn't last forever.

A pause that Ruby had broken by asking, "What's going on?"

Weiss didn't know what to do, what to say, where to even begin.

She hoped someone else - anyone at all - would be able to explain it.

Anyone but her.

Because Weiss... wouldn't be able to look at her without guilt.

She wouldn't be able to look at Ruby and think of what she did and would've done.

At the spur of the moment, Weiss had justified herself and actions.

It was a simple peck on the cheek, nothing more.

They were alone in the room, so it was out of instincts, nothing more.

Ruby looked cute, so it was only fair to express those thoughts nonverbally.

It was fair.

That was what she'd told herself...

But not anymore.

Not anymore.

Nothing was ever the same between them.

 _Not anymore._

There were so many things that would go differently.

So many things that had gone differently.

So many rights she'd wronged.

And all because...

All because she'd let her stupid feelings take over her actions.

Such stupid actions...

From such a stupid girl...

Foolish girl...

 _Foolish..._

 _Foolish child, such ungratefulness and stupidity can never be tolerated in this household-_

"Weiss?"

Blue met silver.

Weiss opened her mouth, but before she could utter a single word, Blake beat her to it, explaining things in great detail about what exactly was their delay and what led them to it.

The heiress was glad the noirette had taken over. She didn't know whether or not Blake knew why Weiss was in such a state, but she was thankful for it anyway.

After she'd fully regained her bearings, Weiss even managed to put in a few words herself.

She stopped trying to explain for a moment to check on Neptune, only to let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when she saw him with Sun.

He already looked better. That was good. _Very_ good.

It took them awhile, but unsurprisingly, the two siblings eventually got the gist of it.

"So... no instrument..." muttered the younger of the two sisters.

Weiss nodded sternly, leaving no room for them to even think otherwise - because that simply was the case, no matter how much she wished it wasn't.

"Yes, it'll take at least," it took her no more than a second to look at the clock embedded on the wall and determine the time, "forty minutes before we get his instrument."

Out of all the things... why must Neptune choose to play the hybrid of a guitar and a keyboard? Why not just pick one of them.

... It was not her concern. She shouldn't dwell on this. There were bigger matters at hand.

"We're in..." A sigh, coming from the feline girl's mouth. "Trouble. We need someone to act as a synth to match the beats of my and Sun's instruments."

A small but noticeable gasp coming from the blonde girl.

"Ruby..." It was a faint whisper. Weiss was shocked she was able to hear it at all.

Instantly, Yang's gaze found Ruby's. Silver eyes blinked once. Then twice. Then three times before she finally did something; shaking her head frantically in a feeble attempt to discard such an idea before anyone else finally caught on.

But Weiss did catch onto the brute's idea.

"Oh, no, no, no! You can't- Yang! This is no time to joke around!"

"What idea?" Blake inquired, genuinely puzzled.

Yang opened her mouth to answer it, but Weiss was faster than her by a second.

"Basically, Ruby replaces Neptune." Blake's eyes widened. Weiss wasn't sure if it was because of the idea of her blatant way of putting it. She spared her no glance as she turned to the not-so-idiotic brute. "I have to agree with Ruby," she said, gazing the pair of purple eyes with nothing but cold calculation. "There are _many_ things that can go wrong. For starters, Sun and Blake never practiced with Ruby." Unlike her. But Weiss didn't want to admit that out loud yet, especially not to her. "There will bound to be changes when one instrument is replaced by the other," she continued on, "and that changes can easily lead to mistakes."

Yang bit her lip, constructing the right words for an answer.

"Maybe, but what other choice do we have?" Weiss' eyes momentarily widened when she'd used the word 'we' instead of 'you', but that shock was quickly abandoned. There were more important matters at hand. "Like you said, it'll take another hour for his instrument to come- and that is if they even found it. And even then, do you really think he's in a condition to play?"

Icy blue eyes trailed upon the boy in question, and her fears were proven right.

Despite him looking way better than minutes before the tension had subsided, Neptune still panted and shivered, even when he did his best to conceal it and gave her a small smile.

She smiled back.

"No. No, he shouldn't play," Ruby said. Weiss couldn't help but note how there was something in her tone that didn't feel quite right.

But, again, there was no time to dwell on that - it was something she needed to address the young girl later. When this debacle was over... if it ever would be.

Yang sighed, rubbing her hand on her temple. She regarded Weiss with a gaze that she usually saw in Glynda. It was surprising, to say the least. What was even more surprising, however, were her words.

"Look, I know I'm just me, and you guys are... well, you," she gestured with her hands, "but hear me out, because I have an idea."

"What makes you think we're gonna listen to you?" Weiss sighed at Sun's hostility. She wasn't surprised, in fact, she expected this to happen.

He was why Weiss didn't want to tell her team about her friendship with Ruby, after all.

"Because-" Yang said, not cowering under his glare "-you only have two choices right now." She held out one finger. "Either to wait for Glynda to bring you his instrument and hope Neptune will still be able to play it - which I doubt he will. Or," she held out another, "you can give my plan a go."

Despite how... brutish Yang looked, Weiss wasn't petty enough to not ask for help, especially from someone who clearly didn't have any ill-intention towards her girlfriend's band.

Sun's gaze found hers again for the second time.

Weiss merely nodded.

He looked at Neptune before sighing.

"... Alright, what's your plan?"

* * *

Yang grimaced when Glynda opened the door with a loud bang.

Yaiks, someone's in a bad mood.

She had heard from the others that their manager wasn't exactly pleased when she'd realized Neptune forgot to bring his instrument, but she hadn't known that the woman would be this mad.

"I found it!" she yelled in a volume that was way louder than necessary. Thank Dust Blake wasn't here. Yang wasn't sure she would be able to handle such... aggression.

... Now that she thought more about it, how was she able to handle loud volumes, especially with an extra pair of large ears?

"What is the meaning of this?!"

Yang's grimace increased tenfold.

She honestly didn't know what the manager was shocked about.

Was it about Blake, Sun, and Weiss weren't in the room?

Was it about Yang herself being in this room instead of... well, anywhere else.

Or was it about Neptune laying there, looking worse for wear.

... Eh, he'll survive.

"Xiao Long!"

The girl in question swallowed and forced herself to stand up to meet the manager's furious eyes.

She waved lazily.

"What. Is. This."

Oh... yeah...

How would she explain this?

"... Your children are going through a phase."

Yup.

Nailed it.

Or, in this case, should she say _drummed_ it?

 _... Eh, I'll work on it later._

* * *

 **Oh, Yang, honey, no... that was horrible. You didn't nail it.**

 **Also, "Your children are going through a phase" reminds me a little of Gorrilaz, especially with the newest member. Heh.**

 **So, wow, the next chapter's super predictable. But, before you all comment on the sheer unrealism of all of this, remember;**

 **This is _Yang's_ plan. She made it on the spur of a moment _and_ under pressure. It _will_ have flaws, just like any other plan. **

**If the plan were perfect, that would be unrealistic.**

 **Oh, and I'm glad to hear- err, well, to _read_ how much you guys liked the last chapter.**

 **At first, that chapter and this one was supposed to be one whole chapter, but because chapter 21's already got 5k words, I decided to split the two apart. So, really, the cliffhanger is unintentional, but not unwelcome~**

 **Anyway, guys, if you wanna get some early 'sneak peek' on how the next chapter will go, then visit my P*treon under the same name.**

 **See ya later, aligators~!**


	23. Not Unwelcome

**Some of you might be a little confused as to why Sun is OoC in this, at least when it came to his judgement on Yang. Well, the reason for that is far more complex than you might think, but for now, let's just say I _needed_ a character that looked at Yang the way he did, and he fit the bill more than others. And when I say I need something, you better believe that I _really_ need it.**

 **At first, Glynda was the one who was supposed to antagonise Yang, but I scratch that off because she's _much_ older than Yang and that would be a little... well, harsh. Plus, she knew Yang to an extent (that extent being Qrow) and I feel like she trusted Qrow's niece to treat Blake right _and_ she also trusts Blake herself to make the right choice.**

 **Then I thought of Weiss, but then I realise that Weiss would want to stay on (at least) an "okay/meh/I don't hate you" term with Yang because of her feelings towards Ruby, so _she_ can't be it.**

 **And Neptune's out of the question because not only is he supposed to be "cool" or "chill", but in Canon, he and Blake... never interacted before. Ever. And that would not be a wise choice. Plus, in this version, he doesn't really mind who Blake dates as long as she's happy. And he thinks Yang is cool, both in this version _and_ in Canon.**

 **Plus, Sun's also protective of Blake in canon, though definitely not as much as in _this_ version, so yeah, there's no better option than him. Don't worry, he's not just salty "just for the sake of it" or "just so Yang could suffer". I will expand upon this as soon as I can without rushing it. Because this is more of a slow-paced story, so it will take some time before I'll touch the two blondes' relationship. **

**But if you think I'll just drop this "Sun disliking Yang" bomb and not do anything about it... well... ouch... you _really_ think I'm _that_ inconsiderate? **

**Anyway, hope that explanation helps for you. I know a lot of you must be confused and a little doubtful of me because of the last chapter. This is to clear things up, and for me to say "No. I _did_ plan for this from the start and I _do_ have plans with his character in the future."**

* * *

Blake swallowed.

She hadn't felt this nervous ever since she'd first performed.

And that was a long time ago.

 _Too_ long for her to recall, and yet... She was able to recall it anyway - each and every detail, very vividly.

Her eyes first gazed upon the unusually quiet singer.

Despite her straight posture and her stoic face, Weiss wasn't able to hide the entirety of her nervousness. She bit her lip. She sweated. She looked everywhere else other than her teammates.

Blake couldn't blame her. She, too, couldn't control the pounding on her heart, or the twitching in her hands.

Sun wasn't doing any better.

Blake found it was very unlike him. The boy had been murmuring things along the lines of "This better work" or "I can't believe we're doing this".

He was being more pessimistic than she herself.

And she was Blake Belladonna.

The embodiment of anything other than sunshine and rainbows.

People associated her with the color black. If not, it was a very dark grey.

Her name literally meant _black!_

But…

He was the one having not even an ounce of faith that they would be fine. And his name was Sun. _SUN, for Dust sake._

Blake internally sighed. As bad as they were dealing with all of this, they still were faring better than the unexpected... temporary member of the band.

Ruby Rose.

The err... girlfriend(?) of Weiss Schnee.

The sister of her girlfriend.

And, for now, the replacement for Neptune.

The guitarist of Hunters and Huntresses. Temporarily, at least.

Yeah... Ruby...

Blake indeed had never seen someone be so...

So frozen and yet so... flustered.

The brunette continued between the curtain keeping her apart from the audience and down to the tiled floor. Every so often she would look at her instrument, absentmindedly strumming a few chords before realizing what she was doing and stopping herself yet again.

And that wasn't all.

Ruby also fidgeted with the hem of her shirt so badly Blake began to fear if she'd rip the fabric apart.

It was such a disheartening sight to see.

What was even more disheartening, however, was Weiss' reaction to it all - or, more accurately, her lack of it.

Despite her recently revealing that she had a close relationship with the young girl, the heiress hadn't batted an eye towards the young girl, much less spoken a word to her during this entire debacle.

She saw Ruby trying to make a conversation with her earlier, but Weiss stood there like a deer caught in the headlights before walking away as if the brunette didn't exist.

Blake wanted to be angry, but she found that she couldn't. She was merely disappointed by the girl's frostiness towards the girl who - as far as Blake knew - hadn't done anything wrong. But moreso, she was curious as to why.

Even now, the heiress chose to stand in the far corner away from them - away from her; from Ruby, as opposed to the rest of them who stood to face the curtain.

What had happened between them?

Blake might not have seen them interact before, but that didn't mean she couldn't sense the obvious tension between them.

It was also important to note that Weiss had been acting strange ever since this morning. She kept daydreaming; blushing and touching her lips when she thought no one was looking.

She wondered if...

Blake shook her head, chastising herself. _This isn't the time to start guessing about this._

However, no matter how much she tried to calm herself down in an attempt to focus, the noirette couldn't help but steal a glance towards Yang's little sister - who looked even littler now more than ever.

This was Ruby's first big show.

She only had a few minutes to prepare.

Everyone was counting on her not to mess up.

This could potentially ruin her life.

... _Of course_ she was scared out of her wits. How could she _not_ be?

Blake needed to do something - help her in some way. She couldn't just leave the fragile girl alone.

Not wanting to see the young musician in such a state, Blake crept towards her, making sure to louden her footsteps so the girl could hear her and know she was coming.

Up close, the girl's jitters were much more visible.

She gave a fake cough to announce her presence. "Hi," she attempted.

Ruby flinched from just her voice. It appeared despite her best efforts, Blake's footsteps were dead silent.

"O-oh, Blake, what's up?" Ruby's toothy smile vividly reminded her of Yang's.

Blake smiled warmly in return.

"Ruby, you know it's going to be alright." Hopefully. "Your sister will never put you on this spot if she knows you can't handle it." And she trusted Yang above all. Perhaps she even trusted her more than herself, not that she'd ever admit that out loud.

The brunette seemed surprised by Blake's words. She couldn't blame the young girl, this was the first time they'd ever talked to each other.

But slowly, Ruby nodded. "Yeah... yeah... you're right." She gave the older girl another, shyer smile. "Thanks. You're really cool, Blake."

The girl in mention couldn't help but blush at the praise. She was used to receiving such compliments from many people before. But this was _Yang's_ sister. Moreover, her words sounded just as honest as her smile, unlike many flatteries.

Yes. Ruby was, without a doubt, related to Yang. Apparently, making her heart pound faster than a person's on the olympics was part of the genes - the Xiao Long charm... who would've guessed?

This information made her query what kind of person their parents must've been...

Blake heard a faint whimper. It came from Ruby, who was looking downcast again.

Any normal person wouldn't be able to hear such a delicate sound. She had her extra pair of feline ears to thank for that.

"Hey, what's wrong, talk to me?"

Blake wasn't used to this - coaxing people to tell their problems and listen to them while they vent.

But Ruby just seemed... very troubled.

Plus, she was willing to do this, even when she was in no way obligated to do so. It was clear that Ruby was scared and not at all pleased by what situation she found herself in. But they all had made it clear she could walk away at any moment if she wanted to.

But Ruby never did so. Not even once.

And Blake couldn't help but want to help her in some way. Any way at all.

Silver eyes found amber for a brief second before Ruby went back to looking at the ceramic-tiled floor.

"It's just..." she bit her lip for but a moment before continuing. "What if I mess up? Weiss is gonna hate me forever."

Blake blinked.

Oh.

So something had happened between them.

A smile came to her as naturally as her words. "Ruby, Weiss will never hate you. Even _if_ you mess up." She made sure to accentuate the 'if' for apparent reasons.

She found herself looking at a distraught pair of silver orbs and a very cute pout.

"You _really_ think so?"

Dust. Despite the obvious difference in height, eye color, hair color, and many more things...

She looked just like her big sister.

Blake was taken aback. She blinked and literally took a small step back.

The resemblance was uncanny. It was almost creepy, even. Almost.

But... it did help Blake in talking to her. The familiarity erased the gnawing, clouding thought that this was the first official time they'd met.

"I know so," whispered Blake, not without a grin.

Ruby's face lit up - and again, she looked just like Yang - and she attempted another smile.

That smile faltered seconds later.

"What if I'll screw up? It'll ruin your life..." Blake didn't know whether to scoff at the ridiculous words or chuckle at her worry. Even if Ruby wouldn't be able to please the crowd, the worst that could happen was they would receive not-so-pleasant comments from anonymous people on the internet - and worse, a scolding from Goodwitch.

"Ruby..."

Her voice was stern but soft. She thought of what Yang would've done in this situation and tried to reciprocate that. Granted, she didn't actually know what the blonde would've done since she'd never seen the two siblings interact with each other - but she had heard countless stories from the older sister about the relationship between them to know _some_ things.

"None of us will ever hate you." She'd make sure of it. "In fact, we should be thanking you."

An innocent blink, followed by an even more innocent question. "Why?"

Blake kept herself from rolling her eyes. Ruby had such a kind heart that she didn't even realize what she was doing. Yes. This girl really was Yang's sister.

"You're willing to do this for us. To stand up in front of this many people without knowing until now. You're willing to go through with this plan even when you don't have time to prepare anything." The faunus paused to let her words sink in. "We should be thanking you," she finished with a smile she hoped showed just how grateful she was. "I need to be thanking you," she said as her voice softened. "So... thank you, Ruby."

Her pep talk seemed to work in building confidence for the young girl - small as it may be.

A small chuckle slipped past the girl's mouth. "And here I am thinking you're gonna yell at me for being friends with Weiss."

Blake raised an eyebrow, her mind begging two questions. "You think I'm going to yell at you?" _And, more importantly, aren't you two dating?_

She didn't ask the second question. For obvious reasons.

"Well, I think so." Ruby's eyebrows furrowed in a frown. "Weiss seems really nervous for some reason when it comes to other people knowing about... us. I don't think she wants you guys to know about us."

Blake blinked at the choice of words the girl had used. Almost as if...

Was she?... Were they?... They were dating, right?

... Yeah, no, she wasn't going to dive into that rabbit hole just yet.

She bit her lip, considering what she should say next. "I-"

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls," the announcer's voice cut her off before she could say any more things. Quickly, she sprang into action, grabbing her respectful instrument and making sure she was comfortable wearing it. Ruby saw and did the same. "Gather around! Gather around!"

A shaky breath caused her to turn and look at the smaller girl.

A pang of empathy shot through her.

 _This is it._

To her, this was the defining moment for her.

Briefly, the faunus was reminded of the books she'd read; the tales she'd dive into.

But, nothing could compare more than this one tale.

The tale about the young girl who was believed to be the one who would save the village from the wretched dragon.

The one who was fated to slay the dragon.

And right now...

Ruby was the young girl. The innocent, scared child who wanted nothing but for everything to be okay. But everything wouldn't be okay if she didn't do this. So she had to.

In her eyes, she had no choice, even when everyone had made it clear she could always walk away at any moment.

She, along with the rest of her band was the villagers. People who depended on her at this very moment, and for moments to come.

And the dragon...

Well...

It was evident who the dragon was, of course.

The dragon was the show itself.

The show which she was scared she couldn't handle. The show that could, in Ruby's perspective, ruin her, along with the rest of their lives forever.

She wasn't prepared to do it.

She was only a girl, after all...

Yet...

She needed to slay the show.

They all did.

"Ruby," said Blake aloud. The girl couldn't hear her, too keen on listening to the booming voice of the announcer. To both gain her attention and comfort her in some way, the faunus put her hand on the girl's shoulder. When the brunette looked at her, she smiled. "You'll do fine. I know you."

"What if they don't like me? Blake, What if I mess up?"

Her smile softened into one of honesty, whereas before, it was of comfort.

"You won't."

And she truly believed so.

Ruby was Yang's sister.

She knew there was more to this girl than met the eye.

She'd seen firsthand her capabilities all those months ago, after all.

Ruby could do this.

 _She WILL do this,_ her mind corrected.

"I believe in you, Ruby," Blake spoke. Silver eyes widened. She paid no mind. "Yang believes in you," she added.

For a brief moment, her eyes trailed towards another girl who was also secretly just as scared as Ruby was.

Weiss stood there looking at her.

Her face spoke what her mouth couldn't.

Blake caught the message.

"Weiss believes in you too." Her mouth curled into a small smile. "Once this is all over, I know you will sort out whatever's going on between the two of you."

"Thanks, Blake," Ruby said with a bright grin and an equally bright tone. It lifted up her spirit. And not just a bit. "Yang's lucky to have you."

The faunus did her best to remain composed despite the smoldering blush on her cheeks. Dust, she and Yang were definitely related.

"I..." A cough. "You're lucky to have Yang as well." Her answer was met with a bright smile and for what felt like the hundredth time, Blake found herself comparing the similarities between the two sisters. Dust.

"Girls," Sun cut off, putting his muscular hand on top of Blake's shoulder, looking into her eyes with his unusually stoic expression. "C'mon."

"Okay," Blake responded in a murmur.

He gave a glance towards Ruby, who quickly gave him an awkward smile. He blinked twice in shock before giving a smile of his own.

"You'll be fine, Red," he said, surprising both Ruby and Blake with his genuine tone. Since this whole 'Neptune forgot about his keytar' started, he's been anything but sunny.

So this was... surprising.

"Y-yeah, I hope so," the brunette said, though it was clear that she didn't actually think that at all.

Sun grinned down at her - it was his infamous genuine grin.

"Ruby, right?" he said, crouching a little to be on eye-level with the small girl, his smile widening a tad bit when she nodded with puffed cheeks. Blake couldn't blame him. Ruby was illegally adorable. "Wanna know why none of us pros ever get scared on a show?"

Silver eyes shimmered with interest, and she nodded again, albeit a little quicker and much more eager.

Blake smiled at her not-so-hidden enthusiasm.

"The trick is," he said, lowering his voice into a whisper and leaning closer towards the girl's ear as if he were about to tell her a life-changing secret. Blake raised an eyebrow - slightly glad she had an extra pair of ears that allowed her to listen more than anyone ever thought possible. Just what kind of prank would he pull? "That us, the pros..." he said, intentionally slowing his every word for dramatic effect.

The noirette rolled her eyes and was about to pull the girl away from him and scolded him for playing with her while she took him seriously when-

"We _do_ get scared."

-she stopped dead in her tracks.

Blake was motionless and soundless as she watched the interaction between them - watching something unfold.

"Huh?"

He smiled at her. "Not what you're expecting, right?"

Ruby nodded, a little hesitant. He laughed and put his hand on top of her head, ruffling it a little, causing her to squeak in surprise before it turned to annoyance.

"It's true. The thing is, Red, is that all of us do get scared, no matter how awesome and handsome we are." He said, his smile never faltering even when she swatted her hands away like they were bugs.

"But you don't look scared," argued the young brunette, her scowl slowly fading into an inquiring expression.

"Yeah, doesn't mean we aren't," he swiftly countered. "It's like when you didn't study when doing exams but you pretend like you do so the teachers don't think that you cheated - even though you _totally_ did."

"But... I never cheat." His face paled tremendously at her statement, no doubt horrified at the simple concept of not cheating before an exam. It took all of Blake's willpower not to chuckle at the sight.

After shortly whispering, "Damn..." he asked, "You get the idea, though, right?" Ruby gave him a slow nod. She then looked down, thinking, before looking back up at him again, shaking her head. Sun sighed. This time, Blake couldn't contain her chuckles. The blond looked at her with a face that basically asked, "Are you serious?"

"Sorry," Blake chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand, trying her best to actually apologetic. "Please continue."

Sun glared at her for a second longer while Ruby just innocently looked between them, wondering what was going on.

"As I was saying," he said, giving her a short glare before returning his attention back to the kid. "We all get scared, Red. And that's alright."

"So... you're scared now?" she asked, regarding him curiously.

"Yup!" said the blond faunus without an ounce of hesitation. His wide bright smile a contrast to Ruby's blank face. "Just like you!"

"But... but then..." Ruby frowned, not unlike a child. "How do you deal with it?"

He chuckled and gave her a wink as if his words were a secret, which made Blake roll her eyes. He could be so dramatic when he wanted to be. "I don't. I just pretend like I do and hope it disappears."

"Does it?"

"Does it what?" he asked back, blinking.

"Does it ever disappear? The fear, I mean," Ruby explained, fidgeting nervously, but looking up at him, hoping he would give her the answer she needed.

"Oh, no, of course not." Blake didn't know who was more shocked; her or Ruby. "But that doesn't mean I can still pretend."

Blake opened her mouth and was about to scold him for his irresponsible, not to mention unethical answer when Ruby spoke again.

"So you just... pretend that you're not scared even though you are?"

The faunus girl gaped.

It appeared that Ruby not only accepted but understood Sun's words... unlike her.

He grinned at her again. Ruby smiled, and this time, it was neither shy nor forced. She genuinely was happy - well, as happy as a girl who was about to perform in front of Dust knows how many people without preparing for it whatsoever could be.

"Yeah. I mean, how can I _not_ be scared when I'm gonna be in front of thousands of people," he stated, throwing his hands up, but frowning when seeing her aghast look. He cringed and retracted his words. "Technically, it's _hundreds_ ," he looked a little relieved when she calmed down a little bit. "You get the idea, right? Everyone gets scared, Reddy-"

"My name is Ruby."

"-Hell, this one time, Blake was so scared Weiss found her hiding outside the building pretending to be reading her novel."

"Hey!" Blake shouted out of instinct.

First of all, how the hell did Sun know she was hiding?! Did Weiss tell him?! Did he _bribe_ her?!... How the _hell_ was he able to bribe one of the richest girls in the entire _Remnant?!_

Secondly, she wasn't pretending to be reading her novel. She actually was reading her novel... she just... liked to take her time sometimes... to really dive into the world of literature.

And lastly, what was wrong with hiding for a few minutes and pretend like she wasn't going to do something that would either _make or break her career?_

"What? It's true." Sun said, taking a moment to gaze at Blake and give her a smile. She merely glared at him for embarrassing her in front of her girlfriend's sister. "And Nep still gets all shaky even when he doesn't forget to bring his instrument. My tail gets all squirmish when I'm scared." He said, pointing to his own tail. It was, in fact, moving a lot. Blake's eyebrows rose. She only now noticed that. Huh.

"And Weiss..." He heaved a sigh, looking at the girl who had not said one word during this entire ordeal - not more than what needed to be said. "She gets scared too."

"How do you know?" asked Ruby.

Blake stood there, not saying a word as Sun turned to look at her with a solemn gaze. She returned that same gaze.

"Everyone gets scared," was his response.

"But she doesn't look scared," Ruby countered, looking at the lead singer. She took a step forward, her hand reaching out towards the heiress, but bit her lip and looked back towards the drummer, putting her hands on her pockets.

Sun gave her a teasing smile. "Do I _look_ scared?"

"Well, no..." Ruby frowned, looking down, her hand stroking her chin in an unintentionally cute way. Blake could almost see the gears in her head spinning.

"That doesn't mean I'm not scared, right?" asked the blond faunus.

Ruby blinked before looking up at him again, this time, with understanding filtering her eyes.

"Right," she said whilst nodding. Sun grinned. Even Blake smiled.

"So that means Weiss is scared as well!" Sun cheered. Ruby smiled at him confidently. "Even if she hides it better than the rest of us. Okay, Reddy?" That smile vanished.

"Again," a sigh, followed by a half-smile, "my name is Ruby."

"Sure thing, Reddy," Sun said, the mirth in his eyes betraying his seemingly genuine smile and tone, making the brunette frown even harder. "Now c'mon, we got music to play," announced the blonde, pumping his fist up in the air.

Blake chuckled at his enthusiasm but burst into laughter when Ruby attempted to do the same with less grace and power, followed by a cute little "Hmmph!"

She geared up. Ruby did the same. Sun simply held his drumsticks.

As soon as Blake deemed herself ready, she walked towards Weiss and put a hand on her shoulder. The heiress' nonverbal reply was the jolt at her touch and turned to glare at her, only for her eyes to widen when she saw who had touched her.

"C'mon, Weiss," she said, earning a nod in response.

Blake kept her hand placed on the girl's shoulder even as they walked onto the stage along with Sun and Ruby.

Blake didn't miss how Ruby and Weiss stole glances towards each other - thinking no one noticed.

And she pretended not to notice how Ruby's hand ghosted over her cheeks and Weiss' towards her lips.

The crowd finally saw them, at long last.

They screamed like they'd never scream before.

Blake suppressed the urge to flatten her ears at the loud noise.

She'd done this many times before. She was used to this.

It didn't bother her as much as it used to.

Ruby instinctively shied away from the sudden explosion of noise.

Blake's heart melted when the young girl hid behind Blake's back, even going so far as to wrap her arms around Blake's shoulder.

Sun gave out an obviously fake cough.

"Now, remember ladies," he said, turning to look at Blake and Ruby. Something told Blake he was really speaking to the latter. "Straighten your back, tilt your chin up, and, most importantly..."

He grinned.

"Smile and wave."

* * *

 **Just smile and wave, boys... smile and wave.**

 **Get it? Did you get the reference? Please tell me you guys got the reference, because if not... then you are all uncultured swines XD**

 **So, in my Grammarly insights, it is stated that my writing is on a 6th grade reading level, meaning 11 year olds are the ones who should read my work.**

 **For those of you who are under or over the age of 11... _fuck off._**

 **Okay, yeah, that was a joke, in case you guys can't tell... Please don't stop reading my story because of my terrible joke.**

 **Oh, and for those of you who've PMed me and haven't received any reply, I'm sorry for that. Life's been kicking me right in my as- ... butt. Right in my butt. And I'm thankful that I'm able to publish this chapter at all today. But don't worry, things are starting to get better and I promise that it won't affect my writing, instead I think it does the opposite ;)**

 **As always, I am grateful for all of your wonderful reviews, you people are all amazing for taking your time to read my hard-work. If you want to support me even more, then you can always go to my P*treon under the same name - AKA Clementine Davidson - and get parts of the next chapter early in return.**

 **See you all next week~**


	24. A very Long Plan

**I have 200 favourites.**

 **... HOLY COOKIES AND ICE CREAM THIS IS THE BEST! THANKS, YOU GUYS! No, really, thank you. I literally couldn't have gotten where I am today without you. This is such a milestone for me. So, thank you. Thank you for everything :)**

 **Also, apparently my writing being comprehensible for people around the age of 11 is a good thing. A few people explained that the more people understand it, the better. And honestly, I agree with them. My writing has improved so much over such a short amount of time. It's almost baffling. I mean, just compare my current writing to, let's say, "Uncertain", AKA my very first fanfiction. I mean, wow, I used to be such a _terrible_ writer. At least now I'm beginning to understand _what_ to avoid when writing stories. I'm pretty proud of my writing. It's not great or anything, but, I'm still proud of it.**

 **Anyway, guys, enjoy this chapter. It's short compared to the last 2 chapters, I know, but it serves what it needs to serve, and that's all that matters. Plus, it's more or less 4k words, so it's not even _that_ short. The last thing I want to do is drag a chapter longer than necessary just so I can hit the wanted word count. That'll do nothing but worsen a story. Trust me.**

 **Also... get it? A very _Long_ plan? _Long_ as in _Yang Xiao Long_?... Heh. I'm a genius.**

* * *

Weiss ignored the urge to cower away from the crowds.

The rational part of herself reminded how these people came here for them - and, to an extent, _her._

And their screeches - how annoyingly loud they may be - were those of excitement and praise rather than something much less... pleasant.

She channeled her ears to try and listen to each and every individual's words, a smile growing with each person's words.

"Yush! Finally!"

"Weiss! You're an angel!"

"Sun's abs! Where is it?!"

"I _live_ for Sun's abs!"

"Where are the golden abs!"

"My Dust, I can't _believe_ this is happening!"

She couldn't manage to hide a grin at that last one.

She pulled the mic closer, its rusty yet familiar texture doing wonders with her nerve.

As she waited, she looked at each and every one of their audience - her audience. It took awhile, but eventually, they all quieted down.

She deliberately narrowed her eyes as she pulled the mic even closer.

"Hi" was all she said.

The reaction was wild, if not, overwhelming.

As they all cheered and roared about various things, she quickly looked back to where her friends stood. Normally, she wouldn't need to do such a thing.

But this was a situation far from normal.

Sun's hand waved at the crowd - like the friendly faunus that he was - while the other held his drumsticks. His toothy smile faded when his eyes met hers, transforming into that more of his honest one.

Weiss raised an eyebrow; a question asked without needing words to be said.

He nodded, and that was all she needed to see.

Pale blue eyes traveled until they found the familiar sharp yellow.

Blake stood a little further away from the rest of them, nearest the corner, not that the heiress was surprised.

Upon meeting her eyes, the noirette gave her a smile that never failed to reassure her that everything would be okay.

Weiss did her best to smile in return. She hoped her own smile would somewhat soothe the girl.

And lastly, Weiss flicked her head to another side, fully expecting to see a pair of coal black...

Only to find the purest, brightest silver orbs.

Determination faltered into shock.

Shock slowly morphed into apprehension.

Those eyes spoke of many things; wanting to know if she was okay, wanting to know if everyone would be okay, and needing to talk, to know what happened.

Apprehension burst into something indescribable.

She looked away.

 _This isn't the time,_ was her excuse.

"You all must be wondering why there seems to be a... replacement for Neptune," she found herself saying, gesturing to the brunette, her eyes glued to the crowd.

She allowed a moment to pass with nothing but murmurs from the audience.

"Rest assured, he is fine. He's simply having a rather… Difficult time." Her eyes narrowed. _That's one way of putting it._ "So, instead, for this show and this show only, our band will feature a fresh new musician."

The crowd went wild. That was good. It meant they were all taking the news well.

Everything was going according to Yang Xiao Long's plan... _if you would even call it a 'plan'._

"Some of you may know her from the video I uploaded a day ago," she continued, her cheeks burning with red when they all cheered even louder. Who knew videos could get so viral in such a short amount of time? She almost regretted uploading it in the first place. Almost. "She and I made a cover of my old song. I'm sure most of you, or maybe even all of you for that matter, know who she is. So, let us all give an applaud for… Ruby Rose!"

The audience obliged.

Weiss didn't turn her head to see Ruby - how could she?

She couldn't bring herself to.

She was... as much as she afraid to admit it...

She was afraid.

She was afraid of what might happen if their eyes found each others' again.

She was afraid of what might happen if she heard that painfully familiar voice speaking her name as if it were the rarest type of jewel.

She was afraid of what might happen if... when... she opened her mouth.

She didn't know what she would say.

And that scared her most.

 _Not the time,_ a voice chastised. _Not the time for this._

 _Not now._

 _Focus on what's in front of you._

And the world cleared.

 _Right..._

 _That's right..._

 _I need to..._

 _I need to stick to the plan..._

She steeled herself; her hand clenching into a loose fist, her lips clasping together, and her eyes hardening into orbs of diamond blue.

 _The plan..._

 _Xiao Long's plan..._

 _A very idiotic mess of a plan..._

A plan that relied heavily on the audience, the way she carried herself, chance... Basically, everything that could not be calculated.

A plan that had a narrow chance of working.

... A plan she was following anyway.

Because, really, better to have a horrible plan than no plan at all, correct?

"Today is a special occasion because this is the first time we will ever perform this way. So consider yourself lucky." Assuming Neptune won't forget to bring his instrument again to a concert that Ruby just happened to conveniently also be in. "To start off, why don't we play the same song I uploaded on that video?"

She smiled impishly.

The crowd roared like they'd never roared before.

It made her realize just how popular the video had become.

How popular their performance had become in under such a short period of time.

This was it.

This was the brutish plan:

Acting as if Neptune's absence and Ruby's appearance was all part of a _very special_ occasion and hoping they'd all assume their soon-to-exist mishaps were just them getting used to a new player.

... It was a terrible plan, one that had little to no chance of succeeding.

But it was the only plan they could come up with in the heat of the moment...

A plan she'd followed.

A plan she would _make sure_ worked.

And with that, she began to sing a familiar tune, the guitar strings following her lead flawlessly. Soon, snares and kicks could be heard - as well as the vibrating hums of the bass.

* * *

Yang smirked when Glynda narrowed her eyes. Those orbs of green weren't directed at her, however. They were directed at the stage. As was everyone else's. Well, everyone other than her... and technically the band itself since they were on stage.

... Whatever, that wasn't important.

"So..." She coughed in a deliberate manner, the pride in her demanding its hunger to be sated. "What do you think? Am I a genius, or..." A self-loving chuckle. "Am I a genius?"

It was obvious what the answer was. At least she thought so.

 _Yang Xiao Long is a genius._

She'd always been one. People were simply too blind to see it. Heh. Idiots.

It appeared as though Glynda was one of those idiots since she scoffed in such a teacher-like manner which, of course, did nothing but widen the shit-eating grin on her face.

"If this doesn't work..."

She rolled her eyes and spoke before the older, less charming blonde could finish her obviously-empty threat. "This will work."

"And how do you know that?"

Those orbs of green bore into hers with such intensity it would turn even the indifferent quiver.

Yang didn't even flinch.

She knew very well why Glynda acted the way she was - the girl herself would've done the same thing if she were in her shoes.

She understood Glynda. Her suspicion. Her badly-concealed worry. Her fake anger; an attempt to conceal that worry.

Yang herself was worried.

Because it wasn't just any band that convinced themselves - that she helped convince - were ready to go up on that stage.

Blake was there.

Ruby was there as well.

"Because, up there," she motioned towards the stage, thankful that she was close enough to be able to see who was who. She stole a glance towards the apprehensive woman and smiled when the woman was looking at them as well. "That's my girlfriend _and_ sister." She looked back at the woman, who had one eyebrow raised. Yang's face softened and her eyes pleading. "Have a little faith in them, alright? You've been with them since the beginning. You should know by now that they've got this."

Glynda frowned and looked down. "I suppose so..."

She used one minute to fully inspect the show.

Her main concern was Ruby, being the most inexperienced and unready than the rest of them combined. But she'd found that, instead, the girl seemed to be faring off quite well.

She and Weiss had synched in a way Yang had never seen before. In a way, she wasn't sure anyone at all had never synced before.

Sure, there were a few mistakes here and there - that was to be expected since, well... No one knew Ruby was going to perform tonight - especially the brunette herself, let alone replace Neptune... but...

The calculated, haunting voice of the Schnee girl blended in perfectly with Ruby's more upbeat and open strings.

If Yang believed in miracles, she would call this just that.

A miracle.

It was no wonder they became very popular in such a short period of time.

And behind them were Sun and Blake, who provided more than what met the eye.

Sun was the more telling of the two.

Essentially, he was the soul of the song. What kept it from breaking apart into unorganized shambles.

And he'd kept it with solid beats. The powerful, polished beats. The distance of time between those beats. The occasional crashing sound of the cymbals to keep things from getting stale.

In a way, he was the metronome.

The steady pillar keeping the music from falling apart.

The very foundation of everything.

The sight of him in extreme concentration, no doubt taking in the great burden on his shoulders with an even greater stride.

And lastly...

There she was...

The one from the shadows...

Blake.

Her Blake.

The timid girl who rarely spoke more than she needed to.

It was almost as if she were a completely different person.

They all were.

Her little sister - who once literally got a panic attack because she forgot to study for an exam - now looked like she truly was part of the band.

A proud smile crept onto her face.

Ruby had come along way.

Blake as well.

It took her a few seconds to register the song had ended.

The crowd was as joyful as they could be.

They didn't seem to think negatively about Ruby's sudden appearance - in fact, they seemed to rather love it.

It definitely had something to do with the supposed viral video of Ruby and Weiss...

She'd need to check it out.

"Wait," Glynda said, making her blink back to reality. "What happens now?" asked the older blonde.

Yang turned to regard her, raising her eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"What will they do now? They don't have any more songs- not the one Miss Rose knows, from what I've known. We _need_ to-"

A hand firmly grasping her shoulder stopped any more words from flowing out of her mouth.

Yang gave her a stern look. "Chill, Glynda, they'll be fine." Goodwitch gave her a glare. She threw her hands up. "Don't worry, I got it covered." When that wasn't enough to calm the manager down, she flicked her head towards the performers. "It's not like I don't care about them or anything."

Far from it.

She cared about this show just as much as they did...

Mainly because Ruby and Blake were apart of it.

* * *

Ruby blinked her eyes open as the song ended.

Strange, she never remembered closing her eyes.

... Well, she never remembered much when she was performing, other than the performance itself.

Ruby's eyes glanced over Weiss, her already-pained heart hurting even more when she didn't give her a glance - not even once.

What was wrong with Weiss? Did Ruby do something wrong? She didn't remember doing something wrong-

Oh, shit! Did Weiss expect her to chase after her after that short-but-sweet kiss back at the studio?! Was that why she was acting so... quiet?

But it wasn't Ruby's entire fault that she froze like that.

The kiss was just...

Wow.

Like, super wow.

Super omega wow.

Super duper omega wow.

Ultimate wow.

... The kiss was _ultimate super duper omega wow._

Goosebumps had continued to travel within her veins minutes after that simple little action occurred.

She was sure the redness in her cheeks didn't disappear until at least five hours, it was a miracle no one noticed. Or if someone did, she was thankful that someone didn't try to pry. Very thankful.

She was pulled away from her daydreaming (or was it evening-dreaming since it technically wasn't daytime anymore?) when the crowd began chanting.

At first, she wasn't able to hear what it was since they were so loud, but then... she did.

"Ruby Rose!"

"Ruby Rose!"

"Ruby Rose!"

"Rose!"

"Rose!"

"Rose!"

A warm hand touched her shoulder, and Blake stepped beside her, giving her an even warmer smile.

Ruby couldn't bring herself to smile back this time.

She was just...

Just...

She didn't...

She couldn't...

Blake chuckled, probably from seeing her face.

Ruby looked at her for a few more seconds before asking, "What... What are they doing?"

The small smile turned into a smirk of amusement. It reminded her of Yang. Just a little.

"They're cheering for you, of course."

If Ruby's jaw could drop to the floor, it would.

"B-b-but, I made a lot of mistakes!" admitted the brunette, her grip on the instrument tightening without her knowing.

"Does it matter?" asked the older dark-haired girl, wearing a smile that was somewhere between proud and delighted.

Ruby's mouth opened as she was about to tell her how much it mattered, but she was interrupted by Weiss' voice, echoing throughout the large building through the speakers.

"It appears... you people enjoyed it," said the heiress, her voice having a teasing tone.

The crowd reacted by shouting happily, making the singer chuckle briefly; and boy, that chuckle sure did make her heart do a flip. A very high, cool flip.

Weiss put a gentle hand on her lips, a small smile tugging. After a while, the crowd's roars and yells lessened.

"Now, for this special event, we're going to do something a little different." Some crowds reacted by whooping despite not knowing anything, as if anything the band did would be awesome. Others began to murmur to one another. "We wanted to do something different, and we decided that..."

We'll let you guys choose whatever song you want, hope it's a popular song that's not made by Hunters and Huntresses, and then excuse our possibly not-so-great performance because this is something they've never done before and the audience should be glad because it's super special.

"We want you, yes you," Weiss pointed towards them, her index finger roaming throughout the general audience, "to choose the songs for us. It can be any song! It can even be your favorite song! Just ask away, and we'll do our best to give you a satisfying cover."

Yes, this was her sister's very... weird plan.

To pretend as if everything was in control.

To manipulate the audience into thinking this was a special event when really... this was just... a spur of the moment.

Honestly, Ruby hated this plan. And she still couldn't figure out why everyone else went through with it. Sure, at the time, it sounded like it was a genius plan, and they were short on time... not to mention they didn't have any other plan, but...

Ugh...

"Oh!" Weiss' voice brought Ruby back to reality. "Perhaps that is a great song for us to perform!"

The song mentioned was a rather popular song from years back, so it really was a great choice, not to mention it was very easy - at least, for Ruby to play.

Weiss' strong but gentle voice was the first to resonate throughout the whole building. It sent shivers down to her spine - and not in a bad way. It always had.

Sometimes she'd forgotten how beautiful the girl sounded. Which was ironic, really, since her voice was what first drew her attention.

A nudge on her shoulder made her blink and turn her head. Blake was there, looking at her expectantly. She made an "oh!" sound before strumming her strings, the rhythm and style matching Weiss' expectantly.

This was something that had never happened before, not with anyone else until Weiss came along; her being able to play so well and sounding so matching with a person's voice.

It was like...

Like her entire soul was intertwining with Weiss'.

Like everything else disappeared but her, Weiss, and the music they created.

She didn't even realize Blake and Sun had played along with them when they were playing. Not until the song ended, at least.

Then, there was another round of people shouting what they want to hear the band play.

After a few more seconds of trying to select the easiest song for them to play, they ended up with an old, nostalgic song.

Ruby had a feeling it was Sun's favorite song, because why else would he be so energetic when the song started. Everyone ended up following his lead.

And boy, was it fun.

She'd heard from many people and read from many sources about Sun's bright, happy, and intoxicating energy. Only now could she confirm that it was true. She found herself smiling ear-to-ear, and, at certain times, even let out a loud laugh.

She knew everyone else was having fun too!

The audience, Blake, Weiss-

 _... Weiss..._

Silver eyes quickly darted towards the person who had kissed her.

There she was.

Singing, clapping along with the audience, generally looking like she was having fun...

But was she really?

The entire crowd applauded.

Ruby blinked before realizing why. The song had ended.

Blake touched her shoulders. "It's going to get even more fun from here," said the faunus.

She grinned. "Good! I hope you can keep up with me!" she said with a teasing - if not, challenging - tone.

The older girl raised her eyebrows at her remark. Her lips quirked. "I hope you can keep up with me."

Wow. Who knew Blake could be sassy. But, then again, Yang always had a thing for complicated women.

Their gaze held for a little more while before Ruby broke it off, chuckling while looking down. Another chuckle soon followed; Blake's chuckle.

"I can't believe this is actually working," the temporary member said, her tone further showing how true her words were. When looking up, she found that Blake was wearing an amused smile. With a frown, she asked, "What?"

"Oh, nothing~" Blake sang. "It's just that... she _is_ your sister."

Without thinking about it too much, the brunette countered, "Well she is _your_ girlfriend!"

"Hmm..." Blake said, her playful smirk still attached. "That is true... unfortunately."

That certainly made Ruby laugh out loud.

Before they knew it, they were playing another song.

This one was a rather hard song, but, in Ruby's opinion, that was what made it fun.

As Weiss sung with a high octave, the crowd cheered ever louder - becoming crazier and crazier. Ruby also found herself becoming less coherent, and for the exact reasons.

Weiss had an indescribable voice.

A voice that went beyond amazing, beautiful, and awe-struck.

A voice with flaws and cracks that made it even more perfect.

A flawed voice which Weiss embraced with dignity and pride.

A voice everyone had come to adore.

Or, in her case, a voice she'd come to love.

A voice which was just...

Beyond amazing.

And so Ruby kept playing.

Weiss kept singing.

The audience kept cheering.

And before she knew it...

It was over.

* * *

 **Finally. This "arc" is over. But it doesn't mean the story is. Oh, far from it. I think it wraps up everything nicely. Sure, there are dramas and tensions for sure, but overall, I think I did a pretty good job of ending this part of the story.**

 **About the next chapter...**

 **You guys will love it.**

 **There will be fluff. Bumblebee fluff. And lots of it. I squealed and giggled while proofreading it. It's just that good.**

 **And there will be a guest star.**

 **One of them has already appeared in one of the older chapters even if their names haven't been mentioned, and the other... Well... Let's just say "they" are important to Yang.**

 **And no, they're not OCs (I hate putting OCs in fan fictions and do my best to avoid them), nor are they characters from other shows (because that just won't make sense. Not in the slightest bit.)**

 **Can you guys guess who? Can you~?**

 **Let's make a bet, shall we?**

 **If any of you can guess who these two people are, then you'll get a shoutout. If not, well...**

 **Then you guys are sore losers and I am the greatest writer ever!**

 **I don't think it's that hard to guess, especially since there are 300(ish) of you people that reads my work. But, then again, the last time I made a bet with you guys none of you guessed it right (I'm talking about Glynda third-wheeling Yang and Blake's reunion.)**

 **So maybe you guys _are_ sore losers... Haha, poor you.**

 **... See ya later, losers~! (I would put a smiling devil emoji here if I could)**

 **JK you are all amazing... Losers, but amazing ones.**


	25. A Caramel Coffee

**Okay, I have 2 main things I want to say today.**

 **First of all… TWO PEOPLE ACTUALLY GUESSED CORRECTLY! 0_0 THAT IS SO AWESOME! And those people are…**

 **…**

 **People I will not mention _now_ because that will spoil the whole thing *insert smiling devil emoji***

 **And secondly, I've been getting reviews from a person (who I won't mention in case s/he isn't comfortable with it) who's been giving me critics about my work. Like… detailed critics.**

 **… I want to thank he/r for it. If s/he is reading this, then, first of all hi, nice to meet you, I really _do_ appreciate your reviews, after reading them, I began realised some mistakes I've made in my earlier parts of the story. But, umm, dude… no offense…**

 **You _need_ to take a chill pill.**

 **You do realise that I'm not at all an experienced writer, nor do I intend to create this perfect story where everything connects with each other to create one big story, nor is English even my first language.**

 **What I'm writing isn't this complicated, deep, fleshed-out perfect story. What I'm making here is a _fanfiction_. A fanfiction of _RWBY_ , a show that is also not quite perfect. I know I've made mistakes (I'd be ignorant not to), and honestly, I'm too lazy to try and fix some of them.**

 **Do you have any idea how hard it is to juggle between school, writing about bands, and _actually being in a freaking band?!_**

 **Believe me, I'm _trying_ to be better here, but I don't _want_ to make a perfect story. I just want to make a story that's fun for _me_ to write and fun for _you_ (my readers) to read.**

 **You're reading this for free. I know I have P*treon but that's just for people who want to read more and for me to make some money so I can buy things for myself.**

 **I write to create an enjoyable story, but I also do writing as a stress relief because I do have a life and it's _not_ all sunshine and rainbows. Not even _close._**

 **If you feel like the characters are too unrealistic. Well, that's because I don't _want_ them to be realistic. I want my characters to bring a _smile_ to everyone's faces. Don't expect them to be fleshed-out or 3-dimensional or something. Because that is hard to write, and I'm not experienced enough to write _that_ well.**

 **I'm not aiming for "perfection". I'm not even aiming for a story that's "great".**

 **I just… want to make _something_ that I enjoy writing and my readers all enjoy reading, because I know some of you have shitty lives too.**

 **That's it.**

 **I'm _not_ bashing you, nor do I think you're wrong or mean to point out my mistakes. Quite the opposite, actually. You've brought out some good points which I _will_ try to avoid in the later chapters.**

 **Thanks, dude, but you need to slow down. Also, you've written like… 10 paragraphs worth of reviews, and that is just… W O W. Maybe YOU should try writing, like, that is _INCREDIBLE_. If only I was more like you ;-; Really, dude, I appreciate your reviews. They're a ton of help. Sometimes I get too lost in my own writing to notice some of the mistakes.**

 **If you expect a perfect story, then this _definitely_ isn't for you :) Sorry if this offends you, but I just need you to know since you haven't answered my PM. Cheers, dude. I hope you have a good life.**

 **… Okay, with that out of the way, everyone, please enjoy this fluffiness! :3**

* * *

"You know," said a beautiful noirette, "even after a day since it happened, I still can't believe it happened."

Yang blinked and unconsciously slowed down her pace of walking.

"... Care to elaborate, Blakey?" asked the blonde, who smiled when the use of that nickname caused Blake to blush. Blushing Blake is a cute Blake... _not that there's a time where Blake ISN'T cute._

"Well... " Amber eyes were filled with mirth that always gave Yang a breeze of excitement. "Your 'plan' isn't exactly a plan-"

"Hey!"

Blake gave her a cheshire grin as she shrugged. "Not sorry. It's true." Yang pouted. Blake's grin turned into a full smile. "Anyway, people have been talking about it. They even called it the White Rose show."

A yellow eyebrow rose. "White Rose show?"

"Yes," Blake nodded, "since Weiss is white, and Ruby is... well, her name is Ruby Rose."

Yang hummed. "Acknowledged," she said, realizing how obvious it was, wondering how the hell couldn't she figure it out sooner.

No words were exchanged after her small comment - not after a long while.

Yang took the time to focus on her other senses, such as the sense of 'seeing'.

Her vision told her they were still far away from their destination. It would take around ten minutes or so for them to get there.

Usually, that would be a problem. But as long as Blake was here with her, she couldn't bring herself to complain about anything. Not even the silence - which she usually would find boring.

Nothing could ever ruin this for her. Nothing at all.

Her pair of purple eyes found her girlfriend, looking down. It was obvious - by how her brows furrowed and how her eyes seemed to dart everywhere but up - that Blake was deep in thought.

Without hesitation, Yang reached out and grab her hand, giving it a little squeeze.

She marveled at how easy it was to do so. Many months ago, she would never dare herself to do this. But now, it was almost second nature.

Blake's ears flickered towards her as their skin made contact with one another. When gold eyes looked at a pair of lilac, the noirette flashed Yang a smile unlike any other - one that tugged her heart.

And it wasn't because of how beautiful that smile was (even when, Yang noted with a very large conviction, that it was, indeed, _beautiful_ ). It was because of how honest it was.

It was because it truly showed how Blake enjoyed being with her.

"What's bugging you?" What words she'd preferred to use were 'What's bugging that beautiful head of yours?' although she'd refrained herself. True, they were officially a couple, even when it hadn't been made public information, but she wasn't sure they were that close... _yet._

"Everyone thinks Weiss and Ruby are a couple."

It took Yang a couple of seconds before she realized that was all Blake wanted to say. Curious to hear more of her thoughts - but also because the blonde generally loved to hear the noirette speak anything at all - she asked a simple "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Are they a couple?" she elaborated.

"I... I don't think so," said the girl, truly lost. She then offered towards the taller girl with a half-shrug and a sheepish smile, "Maybe?"

Yang snickered. "I'm willing to bet whether or not they are a thing, Ruby still doesn't get the hint."

A black eyebrow rose. "What makes you say that?" asked the puzzled girl.

"Because she's dense as fu-" Yang was slapped by none other than her own girlfriend before she could finish that word. "Frick. She's dense as frick," she amended, hoping her smile conveyed how sorry she was. _Yaiks, we've been what, dating for less than a month and it's domestic abuse already._ Yang chuckled at that thought. "She's as dense as a child - denser, even... probably," she added.

After two beats of silence passed, Blake countered in a murmur while her ears flattened, "Or maybe Weiss is at fault here."

Amethyst eyes blinked. She'd never really thought of it before.

"What makes you say that?" From their not-so-calm conversation all those nights ago, Weiss Schnee was a smart young girl. She may be a little... 'prickly', but that didn't mean she would ever hurt Ruby. The girl certainly cared about her sister, so Yang found it a little hard to comprehend that Weiss was the one who caused a bump in their cute relationship.

"She's... she's not really good when it comes to social situations-"

"Heh," laughed Yang, "I can see that." A very protective, and _very scary_ glare was directed towards her, causing her to cringe and regret her jab instantly. "Sorry."

Blake's frown softened, but even when it was no longer steered towards Yang, it didn't vanish.

The blonde didn't point out the fact that her pace had slowed down immensely. It was a wise choice, in her opinion.

"She doesn't exactly have what you would call a normal childhood... or a happy one for that matter. She's... slowly learning, she's doing so much better now than she was when we first met."

"And... how did _that_ go?" she pensively asked, not sure if it was the right choice for her to be speaking at all. Curiosity beat cautiousness, she supposed, even if it killed the Blake. Heh, puns.

"Perhaps one day I'll tell you," said Blake with a telling smirk.

Yang did her act by pouting far too childishly to be actually true. Seconds later, they erupted into laughter.

After it had stopped - and it didn't stop for a while - she released a deep breath. "I don't think it's anyone's fault, really. I mean, you did see them back there, right?" She cringed. "The way they keep looking at each other, thinking none of us are gonna notice."

It had been a somewhat awkward experience, at least, for Yang personally.

She had seen the way her baby sister look at the singer with a mixed expression of wanting desperately to talk to her, knowing this wasn't the time to talk, and wishing things could just get back to normal, and possibly a dozen more feelings Yang hadn't _bothered_ to look into.

"Yes, Weiss has been acting strange ever since this morning." It appeared she wasn't the only one who noticed the oddness emanating from these two. Though, to be fair, it wasn't exactly hidden very well, if the two weird lovebirds had even attempted to hide it _at all._

Yang furrowed her brows as she voiced one specifically odd thing that had begun to happen two days ago, and was still happening in the current time. "And Ruby keeps touching her cheeks for some reason, I don't know why, but I think it's got something to do with their... err..." She cringed. "Love problem..." It was more of a question than an actual statement.

Yang wasn't precisely sure if the two girls were an actual couple or not. She doubted anyone knew, really, even - no, especially - Weiss and Ruby themselves.

Teenagers were complicated.

 _YOU'RE a teenager!_ the annoying part of her brain argued.

 _Shut up!_ yelled the now annoyed part of her brain yelled.

"Yang." The mentioned blonde forced her attention back towards her girlfriend, who now adorned a look of quiet shock. "Weiss keeps touching her mouth..."

A second passed in which Yang processed her words.

Then two seconds passed in which she pieced together the meaning behind those words, her eyebrows gently raising.

Then another second passed...

And another...

And-

"Holy shit!"

This time, Blake didn't seem to care with her vulgar language. Instead, she took a deep breath and whispered just loud enough for Yang and Yang alone to hear, "Oh... Boy."

Yang herself took a much needed deep breath, digesting this very vital information.

And, after three seconds, she exclaimed, "Wow! Your Weiss just stole my baby sister's first kiss!"

It was blunt. It was the truth.

Blake's ears were half-way flattened as she asked, "Does it count when she kissed her cheek, though?"

Her question made Yang blink. She then hummed and offered a "Maybe?" But Blake's deadpanned look encouraged her to say more. "Depends, really," was all she could say. "If it's a peck on the cheek from a family member, then it's not your first kiss. But if it's not, then..."

Internally, Yang repeated what she had said earlier. _Holy shit._

Blake sighed and rubbed her template, her cheeks tinged with pink. After muttering words Yang couldn't hear, she let out another deep breath before asking, "Are we really going to talk about your sister and my friend's first kiss?"

Her frankness caused Yang to let out a row of snickers. She looked to her front then back at her partner, giving her best sly smirk. "As much as I wanna embarrass them, I didn't bring you here to talk about my baby sister and yours," she raised one hand, "even if there will be _a lot_ of that, no doubt."

Blake looked ahead for but a moment.

"I'm starting to wonder if this is the only restaurant you know," she said, voice monotone, eyebrow raised.

Her smirk morphed into a genuine, if not excited, smile.

"There's a little surprise I've been meaning to tell you, like, since you came here." It wasn't a little surprise, not in the slightest.

Yang guessed that with the way Blake's amused expression turned into one of curiosity that she must've given some indication that she was belittling her news.

Yang opened the entrance door for Blake, and, like the gentleman ( _or is it gentlewoman? Is there such a thing as a gentlewoman? What about gentlepeople?_ ) that she was, she gestured - _fabulously,_ she might add - for Blake to come in.

Blake did just that. After rolling her eyes, that was. And chuckling. She also flicked Yang's forehead playfully after she went in.

 _Eh, still a win._

"Yang, what-"

"Blake!?" a voice Yang didn't recognize shouted. She and the mentioned girl whipped their heads to find who had uttered the beautiful name that fitted the beautiful girl. Immediately, lilac eyes widened at the familiar face of the brunette... and the even more familiar pair of rabbit ears on top.

"You're..."

The girl wore clothes Yang thought were too casual for being in a restaurant - a pair of long-sleeved maroon shirt and black leggings. Her caramel-colored hair was braided and rested on her right shoulder. She looked like a completely different woman than the stuttering and squealing cinema-worker they'd briefly encountered Dust-knows-when.

She approached them, her steps showing hesitation, but her gaze showing familiarity. "Blake," she said, pointing towards her girlfriend. Then, the girl pointed towards Yang and, surprisingly, said, "And you... I remember you too. You two are really here?"

Yang cast a brief glance towards Blake, who had, up until now, only managed a small smile. Knowing the musician must be a little surprised by the sudden chance encounter, Yang greeted, "Oh! Hey, you're the girl from the cinema, right? Sorry, but I totally forgot your name!"

That last part was spoken with what she prayed was a genuine apologetic look.

The girl waved both of her hands and chuckled, her voice small. "No, no," she said, briefly shaking her head. "I've never told you." She gave Yang a smile that spoke kindness. "I'm Velvet."

The blonde realized the girl's- Velvet's hand was outstretched, and, with no delay, she shook it with a grin. "Yang. Yang Xiao Long."

Velvet turned towards Blake, who was the first to outstretched her hand with a small but equally kind smile. "Hello again, Velvet."

The bunny faunus failed so miserably at silencing her squeal. Yang hid a chuckle, finding her reaction amusing and relatable.

 _Yes, hearing Blake Belladonna speak your name does that to you, Velvet. It did that to me when we first met._

The obviously-fangirling faunus shook Blake's hand a little too... animatedly. The musician tried to hide it, but in Yang's eyes, it was obvious she wasn't a hundred percent comfortable for her hand being shaken like noodles.

Velvet then coughed and looked away, failing miserably - again - in hiding her blush. "W-what brings you two here?"

Blake smiled warmly at the girl, even if she herself couldn't see it. It warmed Yang's heart to know that she wasn't the least bothered by the girl's reaction - she most likely was used to her fans not being able to fully control themselves. Perhaps Blake herself understood their reaction.

Then, amber eyes flickered to look at lilac.

"I don't know." There was an obvious hint of coy in her tone. "Yang, why _don't_ you tell us why we're here, exactly?"

Yang opened her mouth-

"Probably to tell you about her new job."

It wasn't Velvet's now-recognizable voice which had spoken those important words - the blunt words that had unraveled what she had hidden for two weeks now.

When Yang turned her head in the direction of who had interrupted her, her eyes widened.

Yang knew who she was. And it appeared that, in spite of she and the person never meeting before until now, she knew who Yang was as well.

"Coco?"

And there it was; her name.

Coco Adel.

The owner of the Adel restaurant herself. _I mean, duh, it's in the name._

The well-known freelance designer.

The woman currently leaning on the doorframe which led to what Yang was sure was the kitchen based on the noises.

The woman which clearly knew how to dress good - not that Yang doubted otherwise.

The chocolate-brown jacket she wore screamed fashion, its texture that already looked smooth - and also expensive, and black-inked stripes on the sides. Underneath it was a lighter shade of the same type of brown plain shirt. The girl also wore a really dark brown shade of glasses, although Yang didn't understand as to why - they were indoors. To complete her look was a dark shade of brown jeans and white and light-brown boots.

 _Damn._ It was no wonder people knew her and admired her work.

Everyone in the room even stopped their business to turn and look at her. Well, there weren't that many people to begin with, and not only was there Coco - a very popular woman, but there was also Blake - also a very popular woman... But still.

"Coco? As in Coco Adel?" Even _Blake_ knew who she was!

"Yep," confirmed the fashionista, popping the 'p', "that's me."

It only occurred to Yang now that Velvet had been the one who had spoken her name. And she knew that not just anyone could address someone as wealthy as _Coco freaking Adel_ on a first name basis, which meant... "Wait, you two know each other."

"Of course," answered the nonchalant designer, waving one of her hand as the other snaked around Velvet's shoulder. "She's my ex-girlfriend."

"Coco!" shouted the girl with blazing cheeks as she tried to push away from the darker-haired brunette. Her attempts were either half-hearted, or Coco was stronger than she looked because Velvet stayed wrapped up in the girl's arms.

"What?" Coco laughed jokingly, the eyes beneath the dark shade never leaving Velvet. "It's true!"

Velvet looked at them with a mixture of horror and embarrassment. Mostly embarrassment.

"We're engaged."

 _Oh._

Well, that certainly wasn't what Yang was expecting. And, judging by Blake's look, it neither was what _she_ was expecting.

"And you two...?" Coco asked, lowering her glasses to reveal her questioning glance.

"Heh," chuckled Yang, looking at Blake with a grin she couldn't dream of containing. Blake's eyes widened. "I'm her-"

"Yang," warned the noirette.

Yang paused as her direction went back onto the future-wedded couple.

"I'm her girlfriend." She heard Blake sighed in relief. "And girlfriend."

"Dammit, Yang," muttered Blake. Heh. She _loved_ it when Blake cursed.

"I see..." There was a certain tone coming from Coco. It was a tone that suggested she had the same sense of humor as Yang. When she caught the designer's gaze - or at least she thought she did - the blonde made sure to wink good-heartedly.

When Coco grinned, Yang knew she and this girl could hit it off pretty well.

"Coco, Velvet..." Blake sighed, looking at Yang and shaking her head, not unlike a mother to a child that had exclaimed something idiotic - which was an utter rubbish, since nothing Yang said had even come close to being near any level of stupidity. "I apologize on my girlfriend's behalf."

Before Yang could retort with an intelligent, witty comeback, Velvet, with a half-smile, responded, "I as well."

"Not sorry at all!" Coco proudly exclaimed. Velvet slapped her hand, obviously not hard enough for it to actually hurt. The designer pretended like it did, though. "Ouch, my hand!" Her hand clutched her chest. "And also my heart!" A nudge on her shoulder caused her to break from her dramatic flair with a snort. "Okay, okay, Velvs, sorry." She then covered her face away from Velvet and, despite her fiancee having an extra pair of large ears, whispered loudly, "Not really."

"Already whipped, ey?" Yang asked, even if it was phrased more like a statement.

She sensed Blake sending invisible daggers through glares towards her, and literally see Velvet doing the exact same towards her own lover.

Not that she and Coco were affected by those unseen daggers.

Upon hearing her previous comment, the fashionista shrugged uncaringly. "Eh, it's worth it." Yang couldn't agree more.

"Can we- just, stop," begged Velvet, extending her hands in-between the two more extroverted girls.

Yang glanced towards Blake - who was very mad and very red - then towards Velvet, who was the exact same as the previous girl.

It was Coco who decided they should stop the teasing - hopefully, for _now_ \- and waved a hand, saying, "Fine, fine. So, Xiao Long, when do you think you can start working?"

"Ah, right-"

"Wait, what work?" interrupted Blake, looking back and forth between the two humans.

"You didn't tell her?" It was Velvet who asked.

"I... wanted it to be a surprise. But yeah, I'll be the new manager here. Well, more like co-manager. It's not really decided yet."

Yang didn't know what Blake's reaction would be.

Would she get mad for not telling her earlier?

Would she be worried Yang wouldn't be able to juggle between her school and work?

Or would she just... not care.

"Yang, that's..." Slowly, but surely, Blake gave Yang a very wide smile, which was rare and moreso, surprising. "That's amazing!" Oh. Looks like she does care.

Now Yang felt like she was stupid for not telling Blake about this sooner.

Of course, Blake would not only care but support her decision. She was Blake.

She was her Blake.

"Yeah," Coco nodded, her easygoing demeanor fading away, replaced by something akin to professionalism. "I can't always take care of this place because of my other job plus my travels. I need someone else to take care of it for the time being. Who can better do it than the star-student of Beacon herself?"

Yang blushed at being called a star-student. Even it if was true, it didn't change the fact that she was fully used to it.

"So..." Blake's eyes narrowed as a smirk found its way to her lips. "You basically own this place?"

The blonde grinned a very sly grin. "Of co-"

"No." Yang deflated. Dammit Coco, you just HAD to ruin the mood, didn't you? she thought as she glowered towards her future employee, who didn't show any care at all. "This is my restaurant, after all. She's simply taking my place for the time being."

Blake frowned. Her ears twitched, her lips bit, and her eyes narrowed. After small beats of silence passed where the atmosphere slowly reverted back to a more lighthearted one, she asked, "But why did you choose Yang? You don't even know her."

Coco and Velvet looked at each other before the latter answered with a kind smile, "You should thank Ozpin for that."

"Professor Ozpin?" parroted Yang.

"Yep," chimed Coco, her hand now wrapping itself onto the girl's waist, gently pulling the girl to merge with her side. "That man's got _a lot_ of connections. Not to mention he never disappoints, far as I can tell. So," she shrugged, "why not trust him, right?"

Yang blinked at her words. It was true that the Professor was always efficient and wise - also a little odd - when it came to what kind of students he allowed on his campus.

But the man didn't _just_ get the respect people showed him; he _earned_ it.

There suddenly was music - a piano playing a gentle tune. Seconds later she found that it was a ringtone - Coco's ringtone.

The designer picked it up from her pocket and she afterward gritted her teeth. "Ah, shi-"

"Language, Coco," chastised her fiancee.

A deep breath. "Shoot. I forgot I was supposed to meet up with these business-dudes an hour ago." Oh... Ah shit, indeed. "Looks like I gotta go," said the designer with a look that said she would rather do anything than what she was supposed to do. She then pulled a white card out of her pocket and gave it to Yang with a smile that screamed confidence. "Keep in touch, yeah?"

Yang gave a confident smile of her own as she took it. "Sure will."

"C'mon, Velvs!" the designer said, dragging the now confused faunus.

"W-wha- _me?!_ Coco! Why do _I_ have to go as well?!" protested the faunus.

Coco didn't even spare her future wife a glance as she shut the front door. Even then, her voice was still somewhat audible even from here.

"If I wanna make this deal, I'll _need_ your cuteness," was the last thing Yang could hear in a dead serious tone before their voice faded away.

Yang looked at Blake.

An angel looked back.

"... I don't know about you, Blakey, but I suddenly want some caramel coffee."

* * *

 **CONGRATULATIONS FOR LITERALLY NOBODY AND HIEROGLYPH PHARAOH FOR THE ONLY TWO PEOPLE GUESSING CORRECTLY! Great going you two, I was super convinced none of you could've guessed it, but, well… I was wrong. Looks like I'm not the greatest writer ever. Sigh.**

 **Anyway, the next chapter's gonna include more fluff, and Bumblebee talking about White Rose. If you want to see some of it, you can visit my P*treon under the same name (Clementine Davidson)**

 **A bit of an update: Life has been tiring. I haven't been able to write 1k words this week, but don't worry, you'll still get your chapters. I've written them beforehand, so I won't pull another hiatus. But yeah, this is for the people I haven't been able to message. I'm sorry. I need to sort out my life. Some stuff came up, and I'll be mostly inactive apart from publishing new chapters.**

 **See you next week~**


	26. Big Sisters

**Yay! Early chapter! Yay for you! Hope you enjoy this small surprise I got for you guys.**

 **The reason why I'm doing this is because 1) I'll be going out of town for the next couple of days, so I can't risk forgetting to upload a chapter and 2) Because hey, why not? Maybe some of you will like this :)**

 **A bit update on life: Sadly, I haven't gotten time to write my story in a more productive manner. Life's been hard on me lately, and while I never intend to stop writing this story ever, don't be surprised if I suddenly need to pull a hiatus. Some problems are just… hard to deal with (people who wants control and acts like they're a poor soul who deserves all the sympathy in the world even though they should be doing their jobs and not complain about it). And sometimes they bug me more than I admit. I mean, that person hasn't attacked me yet, but they've attacked my friends countless times in the past, and I CANNOT stand for that. This bitch's gotta pay. Big time.**

 **But don't worry though, I'm sure everything will turn out okay in the end! At least… for me it's gonna be okay. Don't know about that mouth-breather tho.**

 **Anyways, enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"They seem nice."

The blonde in front of her offered a shining grin as she replied with a simple "They do."

Yang's grin _seemed_ so carefree at first, but Blake noticed a few odd little details towards it that might suggest it wasn't as genuine as anyone might believe.

The grin was stretched out too thin and wide. It didn't match the joy in her eyes - or the lack of it at all. It also dragged on for seconds longer than necessary.

Instead of doing a more head-on approach and asking what Yang had been thinking, Blake decided to take a small sip of her black coffee... immediately suppressing herself from cringing and spitting the bitter liquid out.

She _had_ wanted to try out new foods and beverages. As much as she loved tea - and she loved it too much for it to be considered a hobby - Blake knew the world was far too big for good drinks to only be watered-leaf.

But now, she was starting to think that her open-minded assumption was wrong because, clearly, coffee was _nowhere_ near as good as tea.

It was nowhere near the word 'good' at all.

The darkened, blurred-out version of herself stared back from the black beverage. Blake glowered at it - wishing it to either be replaced with the soothing, calming tea... or for it to explode into oblivion.

She was completely fine with either of these options.

However, after staring at the watery version of herself for many more seconds, she realized it was unwise to be doing such a foolish thing and took another sip despite it tasting even more awful than before.

Blake had ordered this. And now, she must finish it.

Her dignity was on the line.

After taking a few bigger, more forceful gulps of the liquid - mentally cursing the glass to be so big - Blake let it down not-so-gently with a 'thud', wincing afterward at the sheer volume of it and looking up at Yang, embracing herself for the inevitable teasing...

That didn't come.

Yang wasn't looking at her. In fact, Blake wasn't sure she was looking at anything at all really.

Her lilac eyes glued themselves onto her caramel coffee, but... the faunus could tell she wasn't really seeing anything.

Coffee could never be that interesting.

Yang must be thinking.

 _Huh._

Blake allowed a few more seconds to pass in this very unusual silence.

... Dust, she missed hearing Yang talking.

The blonde could be so cute when she was speaking.

Her voice and tone always rose and shrunk in volume and pitch depending on her subject, she even sometimes mimic the way other people spoke with surprisingly accurate intonation and accent.

Oh, and the way her face always seemed to change expressions depending on what part of the story she was telling. It was as if she was experiencing - or re-experiencing - the story itself. If she lit up, that meant she was talking about her favorite part of the story. If she glowered, that meant she didn't like the part - or the person - she was talking about. And so on.

Not to mention the gestures her hands made when she was talking about something she was really passionate or emotional about.

It was all so...

 _So darn cute._

This silence was a little overwhelming. Not because she wasn't used to the silence itself, per se, but because she wasn't used to Yang being silent.

Yang being voiceless was as odd as Sun playing a bass.

She decided to voice her uneasiness. "You're unusually quiet."

It took Yang nothing short of three seconds before she registered the words. But when she did, she, with a discerning smile, quickly asked, "Are you saying I'm loud."

"Yes?" Blake raised an eyebrow. Had Yang seen herself? She was many things, resigned obviously wasn't one of them.

Being resigned was her thing, not Yang's. And she did not want Yang to start stealing her thing.

"... You're bad at this, Blakey."

Amber eyes blinked instinctively. One ear flicked to further show her confusion. "At what?"

"Being suave."

Those two words did nothing but double her confusion.

"Why would I want to be suave?"

Yang gave her one of those megawatt smiles that would've made some people faint from the sheer beauty of it. "Why _wouldn't_ you want to be suave?"

Many months ago, Blake would've been taken aback by the confidence, and she wouldn't be able to respond with a proper sentence - let alone a proper comeback.

But many things had changed in the past few months. One of those things were Blake's immunity towards Yang's... antiques.

She now was able to be unbothered by her flirtatious words and replied with a far smaller, yet equally coy smile of her own, "I'm a woman of action, not words, unlike you."

Yang burst into laughter - automatically causing Blake to break into a smile of her own.

She loved it when Yang laughed. There was just something special about it that it lifted her worries, made everything looked brighter, made herself feel generally happier, and so much more.

"Too cruel, Blakey-boo," said her girlfriend when she managed to reduce her laughter into little snickers. "Too cruel."

Blake's smile faded as her face twisted into a mixture of confusion and grimace.

"Really, Yang? _Blakey-boo_?"

"What?! It's cute!"

She and Yang obviously had very different... definitions of cute.

"No, it's not, Yangy-poo," retorted Blake with a soft frown.

Yang gasped, then squealed in delight. "Aww~ You called me Yangy-poo!"

Blake's frown hardened. _This girl..._ Was Yang testing her or was she really that thick?

"I'm trying to make a point here, Blondie."

"Eh," the illegally-gorgeous girl shrugged with an easy-going and also gorgeous smile. "Blondie's not very original, but good job, Bella-Blakey."

Blake let a long breath out of tiredness and dismay, half-thankful the food had finally arrived because she now didn't have to continue arguing this endless point of a matter that was fully subjective.

She stared down at her food and let the smallest hint of smile filter her lips. Fish was always good no matter when or where you eat it. The familiar aroma hit her nose, making it twitch.

For her, nothing relieved her stress more than fish-related foods... well, other than playing or listening to music. She _was_ a bass player after all.

Her still hand outstretched itself to grab a pair of chopsticks, her mind too excited to notice how stiff her fingers were.

When she picked them up, a pain shot through her hand, causing her to wince and drop the chopsticks.

"You okay?"

Blake stared at her hand - specifically, her right one, the one she used to hold down the heavy rusty strings as she played.

"Yeah." Maybe, hopefully, probably. "Yeah... it's just-"

"Cramps?"

Blake immediately looked up at her girlfriend. Yang didn't seem overly troubled, in fact, she had this knowing look.

"How did you...?" The question trailed away when she saw a small smile slowly fading into Yang's lips, her eyes narrowing a little.

"Ruby gets them all the time," was the simple explanation. "Usually when she's pushing herself too hard." The last part was followed by a warning glare, causing the color to crept up to Blake's cheeks as she looked away.

It was true that she was pushing herself back on that concert - but wasn't everybody? They didn't exactly have the _luxury_ of relaxing, not with them being more than an hour late.

"I..."

"It's alright." Yang leaned forward - causing Blake to momentarily freeze when she saw a certain part of her skin that... _wow... umm..._ Suddenly, that beautiful sight was replaced by a less beautiful one - sushi. Slightly tilting her head upwards to get a better look at her girlfriend, Blake found that her girlfriend was wearing a grin that was equally as childish as it was disarming.

"Open your mouth, Blakey-boo."

Blake immediately clasped her previously-dropped jaw.

Yang, in return, pouted. Very extremely.

"C'mon, are you really gonna hurt your hands even more trying to eat it by yourself."

 _I might_ was the answer Blake really wanted to give, but... she looked back at her hand, which still was stiff. Ultimately, Yang was right.

"... Fine." Not really. She felt like a little girl.

Well, at least Yang was mature and reasonable enough to not use this as an excuse to-

"Aww, yush! Here comes the chu-chu train!"

Nevermind.

"Yang, I swear to Dust-"

"Alright, alright." The glint of humor in her purple eyes died down.

"Here." Her tone was also quite genuine. Blake stared at the piece of sushi inches away from her mouth before she resigned. "There," Yang said, her mirth coming back. "Was that so hard?"

"Yes." Definitely. Absolutely.

"Aww," sighed Yang, a little too dramatically for it to be serious, "do you really hate me that much?"

A surge of anger burst through her chest. She let out a low growl and flicked Yang in the forehead. "I don't hate you." Honestly, how _dare_ Yang even suggest such a thing. Even if it was only meant to be a joke.

"So..." Yang hummed, then broke into a grin. "You tolerate me?"

Blake scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yes," she replied, making sure to monotone her voice. "We are a couple. That means I tolerate you."

"Speaking of couples..."

Blake blinked once before she realized what Yang was talking about. She had been wondering when they were going to talk about that.

"Right."

A couple seconds of silence passed. Neither of them said a word.

Yang raised one eyebrow. "So...?"

Her tone made Blake furrow her own eyebrow. "Why do I have to speak first? You go ahead." After all, she was the one who had brought the topic out in the open in the first place.

Plus, _she_ wasn't the extrovert.

Her girlfriend was.

"Alright, alright, fine," Yang said as she brought up her hands as some kind of peace-offering. "Look, I don't know why, but, Ruby's not as open as she usually would be."

After humming in thought, the musician offered, "Maybe it has something to do with the topic involving Weiss?"

"Yeah, maybe." Yang's tone suggested it wasn't a maybe... nor a yes. "But it doesn't make sense, she and I talked about everything. It's..." She looked down, contemplating this unusuality. "Well, it's... She's my sister!" Yang snapped her head up, finally showing how lost and betrayed she felt as she flailed her arms. "She's my little Rubes! Why doesn't she wanna say anything to me!?"

"You do realize that your 'little' sister is actually sixteen years old," pointed out Blake.

Yang snorted. "Pssh! What are you- oh wait, yeah, she is sixteen."

Blake didn't know if she was supposed to be at lost or in disbelief... so she tried to be both.

"... Did you seriously forget how old your sister is?"

"Well, it's not my fault..." Blake's incredulity doubled. It must've shown on her face because when Yang looked at her, she instantly winced. "Not completely anyway," she amended in a smaller voice. Yang then pointed at Blake with something akin to hope in her eyes. "You've met her, right? Tell me, does she even _look_ sixteen? Hell no!" She threw her hands up.

Blake ducked her head, then looked around. Surely enough, many people were looking at them - well, mostly Yang; customers, waiters, even one chef poked his head out of the kitchenette, clearly interested in who caused such a ruckus.

Blake did the only sane thing any normal person would do in her situation - the act Weiss Schnee had once taught her:

Glared daggers at them.

Everyone was back to minding their own business three seconds later... Good.

The Schnee glare had always worked no matter what kind of situation she might be in.

After Blake was sure no one was looking at her - or worse, Yang - like she was crazy, she directed her attention back to her distressed girlfriend, guessing that, perhaps, she was not so distressed anymore.

Her guess was wrong.

Whereas Yang was vocalizing and showing her distress in every way possible earlier, she now seemed to try and subdue it by taking large gulps of her caramel coffee... which was, very likely, still quite hot.

Blake supposed it was now time for her to vocalize some of her thoughts.

"You know..." she started, her voice a little smaller than she'd hoped. "Even if Ruby does look..." Cute? Adorable? Cuddly? "Younger than she is... That doesn't excuse you for always teasing her."

Yang put down her glass. Surprisingly, the 'thud' wasn't so loud. Hopefully, this meant she was now calm. Blake didn't want to give the Schnee glare towards everyone in the same place twice in a day - especially not when the place happened to be her favorite restaurant in Vale.

"Hey, I can't help it, alright? Ruby's just too cute for her own good." She was. She really was. "And what about Weiss?" the blonde suddenly asked. "Does she ever tell you about these... relationship things?"

Blake looked at her... Did she... Did Yang even hear herself?

"Yang, do I look like a great conversationalist?"

Yang's eyes blinked before it roamed up and down - deeply scanning Blake's body as if it were some kind of puzzle. Then, they went and found Blake's own eyes.

"Dunno, you can probably hit it off quite well with my sister."

Despite it being said so carefreely - the more accurate term would be carelessly - Blake knew it was anything but. In fact, she agreed with Yang when it came to this.

She and Ruby did 'hit it off' quite well even when the situation was dire, Blake could easily finding herself befriending the guitarist soon.

But, no matter how she wished it was, she and Ruby wasn't the issue.

Ruby and Weiss _were._

"Either way, in spite of us being close, Weiss never really talks about her problems with me." She paused, then added as an afterthought, "Or with anyone, really."

"Huh." Two seconds of silence passed before she encouraged not-so-greatly, "Maybe she just needs a little push?"

"I..." Blake looked down, biting her lip. "I don't want to pressure her into telling me anything."

"Pshh!" Yang dismissively waved her hand. "It's not pressuring her, it's just..." She tapped her chin. "It's getting her angry enough to yell out her problems."

"... Have you seen an angry Weiss?" Blake shuddered just thinking about it. She had never been one to be on the receiving end of it - personally, she thanked both her luck and her clever mind for it - but she'd seen too much to know she didn't want to push her luck.

Blake had seen too much.

Yang, however, hadn't seen _enough._

"Eh, I can take her." Words of a fool. A _dead_ fool.

Blake didn't even try to subdue her scoff.

"Sure you can." And she was a dog faunus... which she was absolutely not because dogs were disgusting.

"Hey, I'm serious here," Yang said with a not-so-serious chuckle. "I may not be an expert on tsunderes, but I think I know how to deal with the princess."

After Blake's initial shock dwindled away at the fact that Yang knew what tsunderes were, she raised one skeptical eyebrow. "Really? You can't even deal with your sister."

A very gasp, that in her opinion, was exaggerated. "How dare you!"

"Well, why else would she not want to talk to you?" Blake countered. Yang seemed a little taken aback by her bold accusation, making the noirette wonder if she had gone a little too far, but then the blonde started humming in thought, her eyes darting down.

"Maybe it's because I'm too awesome?" Yang's attempt at a joke fell flat. "Okay, yeah," she admitted with a long, releasing breath. "I have no idea."

Blake released a breath of her own - although hers was in relief - when Yang didn't want to argue with her regarding this sensitive issue anymore.

She looked at Yang one more time, deeply gazing into those purple eyes, searching for what could potentially cause them to argue yet again. When she found no anger nor resentment, Blake's shoulder loosened.

"Look, you need to be more gentle with her." For now, that was all she said. Blake could've said more, but she wanted to make sure that Yang wouldn't try to deny her on this.

The blonde looked hesitant - if not, a little fearful. "Err... Blake," she said, her voice dripping with something akin to self-consciousness, "first off, do I _look_ the least bit gentle?"

Without a second thought, Blake replied with, "Your tongue sure is gentle."

Normally, she would've never even remotely thought of those kinds of words.

Those were the kinds of words that would faint both Glynda Goodwitch and Weiss Schnee and made even Sun Wukong spit his drink.

... But Blake had said those words anyway, and it wasn't just because she had been feeling more and more confident and free the longer she hung out with Yang. No... it was because...

Because Yang's reaction to innuendos was always so hilarious.

People had always assumed that because of her rather confident demeanor, Yang was practically immune to such jokes. But that couldn't be further away from the truth.

She would always either cough. Cover her red cheeks or mouth. Choke on her food or drink and look away.

Whatever her reaction might be, Blake was sure she would enjoy it.

... But she didn't expect this to be her reaction.

After hearing Blake's words, Yang... she...

She fell off the chair.

She _literally_ fell off the chair.

Yang fell off the chair.

 _Yang fell off the chair._

Blake couldn't believe it.

She couldn't believe what she saw.

Only when one of the waiters asked the floored blonde if she was alright did Blake actually realize what she'd just seen.

"YANG?! Are you okay?!"

The blonde, who was molting red from face to chest, looked at her with eyes so wide and jaw dropped so scarcely. "I- I- I- you just- you-"

Blake didn't give her the chance to finish her mumbly, fumbling, incoherent sentence by quickly pulling her - and the chair - up and sitting the blonde down.

When Yang stopped trying to finish her not-so-comprehensible sentence, Blake finally released it;

Her laughter.

"My DUST," she choked in-between her giggles, not even caring who was watching her with strange looks anymore. "Yang, you just- you-"

She couldn't finish her sentence... so she didn't even try.

She knew people must be watching. She also knew Yang was either pouting at her cutely or glaring at her cutely. But she couldn't find it in herself to give a damn.

"Bla~ke!" whined Yang, her face still as red as before, redder, even. "Quit it!"

Yeah, no, she didn't 'quit it', not after the blonde kept poking her.

"Alright, alright, s-sorry." A lie, she wasn't sorry - not after her words had caused Yang Xiao Long to be speechless.

"You so aren't sorry."

"Y-yeah, I am," she reassured, even when it was another lie. "Who knew you could be like this, Yang? I should start doing these things more often."

"Please don't," Yang said, her voice in a far higher pitch than normal, causing her to sound like a frightened child, which only served Blake to laugh again.

Man, she really _should_ start saying these things more often.

* * *

 **Ahh… fluff. I've always enjoyed them. I hope this will cheer you guys up, in case you're having a rough week (like me). Even if you guys are having an okay week, I hope this makes you smile! Because everyone deserves happiness!**

 **I've always loved getting Bumblebee to talk about White Rose or vice versa, especially in this AU where Yang and Blake are basically the big sisters.**

 **Some aspects of this chapter are inspired by real life… Including the part where Yang falls off a chair because of Blake… That is also inspired by real life…**

 **In which I also fall off a chair because my crush said some things that shock me in a suprisingly non-lewd way. Only, instead of falling off a chair…**

 **I fell off a fUCKING SWING.**

 **LUCKY YOU, YANG. YOU JUST FALL OFF A GODDAMN CHAIR, MEANWHILE I FELL OFF A FUCKING SWING, YANG. A FUCKING SWING. BE GRATEFUL I WON'T MAKE YOU FALL OFF A SWING!**

 **It was as horrifying as it was embarrassing.**

 **Ugh…**

 **Okay, let's talk about something else!**

 **The next chapter's… honestly one of my favorites so far. I mean, I wouldn't go so far as to name it "The best chapter ever", but it's one of the ones I like, mainly because it's only purpose is to show just how much Yang and Blake have grown closer together.**

 **If you want to, go check out my page and donate whatever you want :) It'll make me super happy, and, you can get a sneak peek for the next chapter, which practically means you get half of the chapter already.**

 **See you next week, guys!**


	27. A Walk in the Street

**Happy Independence Day for my country! And happy birthday for me! I am now officially… a year older than Snow White… AND ALSO THE SAME AGE AS RUBY (from Vol 1-3) Whoop Whoop! Can't believe I've been on this site for a year… that's super dope.**

 **I can't believe I'm posting a chapter of my story exactly on this day! This is such a great coincidence XD**

 **Anyway, enjoy this chapter! I really like this chapter, and, yes, what happened at the beginning of this chapter also is inspired by real life… where I am Yang, and Blake is my sister.**

 **Enjoy this fluffiness~**

* * *

Blake didn't stop laughing for a _very_ long time.

And Yang was at loss on what she should do.

On one hand, she just fell off of a chair and the first thing that came into Blake's mind was to Dust-damn laugh at her - okay, well, technically, that was the second thing that came to mind right after yelling out her name.

On the other hand... she'd never seen Blake like this before.

So happy.

So free.

So... her.

But it came with the price of her having to fall off of _a fucking chair_ \- so she was still pissed off. Super pissed off - because, really...

 _Blake's my GIRLFRIEND._

 _Shouldn't she, I don't know, SHOW a little more CARE?!_

"Blake." No response. Just laughter. _Dammit Blake, I am your lover, now love me!_ "C'mon, Blake, stop laughing!"

 _I did not ask you out for this._

"I'm- I'm sorry, it's- you just-" _Yeah, Blake, I fell off the fucking chair because you just delivered one of the smoothest lines in history in the smoothest way possible. Is that so hard to believe?!_

 _I mean, DAMN, that was SO smooth. I didn't expect anything like THAT - especially from YOU, Blake._

 _You caught me off-guard, Blake._

 _You really did._

After trying one more time to try and get Blake to quickly shut off her stupidly-cute laughing, Yang decided to give into her torturous fate and let time itself resolve when she would stop laughing.

... Blake wasn't stopping. She wasn't even slowing down.

Yang looked behind the musician. Someone was there. He was giving them a strangely amused look.

 _Dammit._

Blake had the decency to cover her mouth to try to mute her laughter.

Her cheeks were blazing, waiting for her to even show some signs of... non-laughter.

 _Double dammit._

* * *

It took Blake four whole minutes before she completely gained control over herself.

It took four whole minutes for Yang to try and act as if she wasn't being laughed at for falling off of a chair because of a simple sentence.

It was hell.

It was a _literal_ hell.

"S-sorry, Yang," Blake said for what felt like the millionth time, wiping away her tear of anything but sadness. Yang glowered. She knew her girlfriend wasn't sorry at all, but she nodded anyway - not in actual acceptance, but in the reluctance of having to dive deeper into this whole ridiculousness, wanting to move on to literally _any other_ topic.

Before she began to talk, Yang sighed, wanting to get some semblance of composure. She couldn't afford another four minutes of Blake laughing at her again - no matter how cute a laughing Blake could be.

"You told me I need to... change the way I handle Ruby," she began as the redness coloring her cheeks slowly whisked away. "But how would you know how to deal with her? You guys have only met once."

Blake's ears dropped ever so slightly. Her face tilted as she tapped her index finger onto her chin, humming in thought. "Perhaps that is true," admitted the musician. "But that doesn't change the fact that you need to alter your approach."

Yang dryly laughed - partly mocking her, partly just being sarcastic. "Alright then, let's see how you do it, Miss Smarty Pants." The coy words were followed by an ever coyer smile. Despite never admitting it, Blake was a very competitive person. Therefore, she could be hardcore when it involved certain things.

Yang had learned not too long ago that one of those things were when her intelligence was being brought into view.

Blake's face remained as passive and neutral as ever - showing little to no emotion.

But her right ear flickered.

Her mouth twitched, then thinned.

And her eyes...

Those very dark brown pupils sharpened into slits of black, the amber surrounding them sparkled with such smoldering intensity.

 _Looks like I pressed the right button._

"Is that a challenge?"

 _Yep. Definitely pressed the right button; the pumped-up for a challenge Blake._

"Maybe it is," Yang answered in a tone that implied it was definitely not a 'no'. A tone that Blake caught on far quicker than anyone else.

"... Fine." Blake's true feelings were badly layered by her monotone. Yang found it pretty awesome - not to mention super hot - that her girlfriend could speak words so intensely yet so flatly at the same time. She found herself grinning at her beautiful noirette. "If you can get Weiss to see Ruby without running the other way, then I'll start to believe everything you say."

Yang didn't flinch. She even forced herself not to blink - knowing that if she did so, Blake would get the upper hand.

She maintained her Xiao Long smile.

"And if you can get Ruby to see the princess without jumping off of a window, then I'll-" Her grin faltered when she realized there wasn't really much she could bet on. "Umm... I'll do anything you want."

"Deal," Blake said, far too quickly for her own liking. It was then did she realize what potential power and control she could've given Blake if she won this very important bet.

Shit, thought Yang weakly as she, with a confident - and fake - smile, declared a loud "Deal!" that may or may not had shocked a few people in the nearby vicinity.

She looked at Blake, who looked back at her. Slowly, their stares began to turn a little awkward, so the blonde decided to break it by looking at the clock on her phone.

5.15

Wow. They'd been here for quite awhile.

Yang decided to look at something - anything.

Purple eyes darted to the window. Outside were buildings both near and hundreds of feet away from her - the further those buildings were, the less she could make out the details of them. There were also trees... trees with yellow-ish leaves... okay, yeah, the leaves were green. Boring green. Oh, there were also people... No one seemed interesting. They all paled compared to her beautiful, wonderful, amazing, gorgeous, pretty girlfriend.

It was just a shame that what surrounded Blake was the simple setting of a small humble restaurant.

"... So, um, Blakey, wanna get out of this place? The air's always cozy at these hours and the wind isn't as harsh as it is in the night."

Blake gave Yang a smile showing far more emotions than her voice and words. "Sure."

* * *

The sun was probably giving a warm ray for everyone to enjoy. The birds were probably singing a tune gentle to the ear. The people were probably having their best day.

Probably.

Or... The sun had been covered with the gloomy clouds. Everyone was anything but happy. And birds had flown off to who-knows-where.

Yang wouldn't know.

She wouldn't even notice if there was an earthquake - or if there was a riot happening right behind her.

After all...

How could she when Blake was right beside her.

"Why are you staring at me?" asked Blake, who now supported pink cheeks... _Cute._

"Maybe it's because you're the most beautiful girl in all of Remnant?" Yang suggested very seriously. What she said was, after all, a fact... A fact that not everybody knew... A secret.

Blake's pink cheeks flickered to bright red for a few moments before she looked away, grumbling. But when she looked back at Yang, there was something akin to predatory in her amber eyes.

"You must be mistaken, because you, Yang, hold that title."

 _Holy SHI-_

She tripped. Over a small rock. A very small rock - it was nonvisible to the naked eye, that was how small it was. And she almost fell. _Almost._

Blake wasn't outright laughing, but she didn't seem concerned for her either. She simply smirked her trademark smirk and watched with amused-filled eyes as Yang regained her bearings.

"B-Blake!" yelled Yang, cursing herself for that slight stutter. "Gosh! Quit being so... so..."

"Suave?" her girlfriend generously offered.

"YES!" she replied through gritted teeth. Yang then accusingly pointed a finger towards her, remembering what Blake had said not too long ago. "You said you're all about doing and no talking!"

Blake's blink was the only indication that she had been listening to Yang's words. She pretended to be in deep thought by biting her thumb, then went to look up again at the blonde while saying, "Changed my mind," in a tone far more cheerful than necessary.

"Ugh," Yang whined, "really Blake, if you keep doing this, I might faint."

Blake let out a chuckle that did wonders to her chest. "Normally I'd call that an exaggeration. But, since you did fell off a chair minutes ago, you really can faint from my..." A slow blink. "Suaveness."

"... Blake. No. Stop."

Yang was sure that she just turned into a tomato. Or an apple... Anything that's red, really.

Oh, and her stomach had butterflies in it. Annoying, swarming butterflies that made her already panicked heart beat faster and faster. _Damn. Calm down, body._

"Alright, fine," Blake said, raising her hands in surrender. Yang eyed her. Judging by her tone and facial features, she did look like she wasn't going to pull any more trophy-worthy pick-up lines.

Slowly, she let her guard down.

"Good, now I-"

Not only was Yang unable to finish her sentence, but she was also unable to think.

... Because she was being kissed.

By Blake Belladonna.

... Just when she wished to deepen the kiss, her teasing girlfriend pulled back, looking far less disheveled than she definitely was.

"How's that for 'doing and no talking'?"

It took Yang five whole seconds to realize the kiss had ended - much to her absolute disappointed.

And it took her five more seconds to fully process Blake's words.

"... I am so whipped."

Damn. She did expect many things when it comes to dating the famous musician Blake Belladonna.

A protective Glynda Goodwitch? Sure, that was obvious.

An even more protective Weiss Schnee? Yup, that was also to be expected.

An angry and protective Sun Wukong? Well, she half-expected that.

But this...

A very... suave Blake...

This, she did not at all expect.

This, she wasn't ready for.

 _Not one bit._

"You're not the only one." If Yang had animal ears like her girlfriend, they would've perked up at that sentence.

"Wha- what's that mean?" she asked, perhaps a little bit too excitedly for her own good.

"I... can't say." That smile told her Blake could say if she wanted to... she just didn't want to... simply because Yang wanted her to...

Yang sulked for what probably was the tenth time today.

"Bla~ke!" she whined.

"Sorry." Blake was smiling despite her words.

"You so aren't!" Yang called out.

"That is correct." Blake nodded, pretending to be serious for a couple of seconds before her lips broke into a wide grin that made Yang sulk even more.

"Blake! C'mon! I'm your girlfriend! You're supposed to tell me _everything_!"

Blake matched her distressed gaze levelly. "You're my girlfriend. Not my master."

Yang grinned very suggestively. As she wiggled her eyebrows - to make what she was about to say even more flirtatious - she said, "I can-"

Blake pinched her upper arm, causing Yang to yelp, not from the actual pain - it didn't hurt that much, it just stang - but from the shock.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," said the musician as she glared daggers at Yang. The blonde gulped. _Damn, angry Blake equals to scary Blake._

She was about to nod when she realized the double-standards in everything about this.

"How come you're allowed to say these things?" she called out. It wasn't exactly fair that Blake got to use cool pick-up lines that literally swept her off her feet, but when she was about to do it, all she got was more domestic abuse!

"Because my words are more composed."

... Okay, well, technically Blake's words _were_ true - like always. The musician had always whispered her flirts so only Yang could hear them, whereas she herself would either consciously or unconsciously yell out her own pick-up lines for everyone to hear.

Plus, Blake's slaps and pinches weren't bad at all. In fact, Yang knew it was her own way of showing concern for Yang's wellbeing. Since Blake claimed to not be a great conversationalist - even though she totally was when it came to _certain_ topics - she used a more... psychical way of showing affection.

Slaps and pinches were just a part of them.

 _Oh yeah, and forehead flicks. Don't forget about that._

Yang let out a chain of snickers at the absurdity of everything, then, with a megawatt smile, playfully whined, "Hey! I can be composed!"

A smaller, more restrained chuckle slipped past Blake's lips.

"Oh, really? Convince me," she replied, her serious tone not at all matching her smile and sparkling eyes.

Yang opened her mouth but then realized there wasn't really any way to prove such a thing. Was she supposed to list out the things that _confirmed_ she was a very composed and tidy person? "Umm... how?"

"Exactly."

At that answer, Yang rolled her eyes and let out a fake "Grr" sound.

Blake patted her back - her cool fingers causing Yang to almost shiver had she not kept herself from doing so.

"There there, Yang, I'm sure one day you can be a _little_ composed."

Yang wished to reply with something witty, but her cheeks turned into a very light shade of pink - fully aware of how calloused her hand was due to her career as a musician.

Eventually, she let out a light sigh and truthfully say, "You bring out the side of me I don't even know existed, Blakey."

"That is one thing to be proud of." The blonde chuckled at that. Blake could always reply so coolly when she wanted to. Whereas others struggled to find the most facetious comeback ever, Blake didn't even have to try.

 _Damn. I have such a smart girlfriend._

"Seriously, Blake?" she asked, a small but real smile threatening to break from her lips.

Her right cheek was suddenly greeted by a pair of lips. More specifically, Blake's pair of lips.

"Seriously."

Yang touched the cheeks that previously had been kissed very delicately, fully aware of how warm it felt. Was it because of Blake's warm lips or was she just blushing?... Who knows.

"... Okay, let's talk about something else where you can't win," Yang declared as she attempted to hide her bright red cheeks with her hand, looking down to avoid looking at those beautiful golden eyes that would no doubt cause her to redden even more.

"Like?"

"Umm... Rubbles and Princess!" She'd said whatever came first to her mind, which was, apparently, her sister and her possible future sister-in-law.

Huh.

"You mean Weiss and Ruby?" asked the half-confused musician.

"That's what I said." Yang shrugged. Did Blake not know those were the nicknames for Ruby and her girlfriend... _slash future wife._

"Okay..." Blake said. Yang noticed there was a slight crack in her voice. It made her voice cuter. What the hell. That wasn't supposed to be possible. Blake's voice was already cute as it was. "What is there to talk about, exactly?" asked the musician, drawing Yang out of her internal ranting.

"Umm... stuff?" Yang supplied lamely.

"Haven't we establish what we need to do to them just then?"

Yang rubbed her neck - wincing a little at the fact that Blake was right. As always. "Well... Guess it's true..." she admitted.

Blake's gaze traveled forward. A frown marred her features. "We both know what we'll need to do. I'll text you Weiss' address, and you text me Ruby's. We can talk about it tomorrow. For now, let's focus on something less..."

"Weird?" the blonde tried to finish.

"Disquieting," her girlfriend said instead.

Yang let a chuckle slid from her lips. Blake had always known which words to use for every difficult sentence - and they were always so fitting and perfect.

It was times like these where it was apparent just how much Blake loved literature - and not just the simple act of reading books.

No, Blake cherished words, sentences, poems - anything and everything on the printed paper. She treated them as if they were the last diamond on Remnant.

Everything that would let her momentarily escape from the current world; Blake would get her hands on.

She was such a stark contrast to Yang - in that aspect, who use curses and puns to better make her point rather than rare and old, meaningful words.

Yang internally shook her head. As much as she loved to marvel at her girlfriend, she had something important to ask.

"Fine, fine, cool. Where do you wanna go for our next date?"

"What?" Blake asked back, obviously a little thrown off by the very sudden shift in subject.

"I was thinking we go to somewhere nice like the zoo," she said first, grinning at the thought of seeing all those cute animals, "but just in case you're not really fond of it or it's kind of racist or something," she winced at that, "I figured I should ask you first so I won't waste any tickets."

"No, no, what gives you the right to plan for our next date."

Ah, right. She'd forgotten that there was a special rule the two of them once made when they'd started dating - not too long ago. It wasn't really much of a rule and just Blake telling her not to always plan for dates since Blake did have money.

Yang didn't think Blake would take it this seriously.

"Well, it's not planning," she sought to amend, "it's just-"

"You want to pay for our next date." _Damn it._ That was exactly what she wanted to do. How could Blake had known?!

"Pshh! Nah!" she said, internally beating herself up over the way her voice rose in pitch and cracked. "I just-"

"Just like you paid for this one," Blake pointed out not so thrilled-ly. "Even when I insisted we _at least_ split the bill."

Yang gulped. Angry Blake was scary Blake, after all.

"Hey, c'mon now, it's not-"

"No. For our next date, I will pay for it."

"Blake, no, really-"

And... Blake kissed her. Roughly. Needily. Wow. Damn. Her mind slowly shut off; too overwhelmed by the smoothness of the lips that were not her own, by the taste of cool, familiar-tasting blackberries. Man. She _loved_ blackberries.

Her mind wasn't working. She relied on her instincts. Her instincts told her to wrap her arms around Blake's waist, so she did just that. Blake responded by caressing the sides of her head with her hands, pulling her deeper into the kiss.

Time suddenly made no more sense anymore, because she didn't even have a semblance of how long they'd been kissing. Had it been fifty seconds? Eleven minutes? _One full hour?!_

Who knows?! Certainly not her.

Eventually, her lungs screamed at her to pull back so she wouldn't suffocate and die from kissing too long. It made her curse the human body for needing air to live. She really needed to practice her breathing techniques - maybe then she really _could_ kiss with Blake for one straight hour.

She was very reluctant when breaking away from the sweet, addicting kiss. She knew Blake must be too.

When their lips parted, strands of her yellow hair partly blocked her view - her hair must really be dishevelled because Blake's hair was too. She felt warm, but she grinned when seeing the red on her girlfriend's cheeks.

Together, they tried to regain their breath, yet they didn't move from their previous position.

Yang really didn't want to let go of Blake. The arms around her girlfriend's waist felt like they were glued to it. Plus, she was a little exhausted from the kiss, so it was best if she didn't move.

Meanwhile, Blake's hands found themselves gently roaming over Yang's hair. The blonde noted how gentle and careful they were and smiled. Blake knew how much Yang cared for her hair, and that made her care as well.

While others would roll their eyes over her protectiveness on her hair, Blake tried to understand it and treated it as gently as she could. Damn. One of the more reasons to keep being her girlfriend.

Vaguely, she was aware that they were previously arguing about something.

But... her head was still fuzzy and not fully turned-on so she couldn't recall what it was they were arguing about.

Perhaps Blake would know?

"... What were we arguing about again?"

Blake shook her head, not to clear her head, but to tell Yang not to dwell on it any longer. Yang was content with just that.

Why dwell on something probably-pointless they were arguing about earlier when she could focus on something _much_ more important, such as Blake and everything about her.

Her dazed lilac eyes stared into the much more awake amber.

"Tell me, Yang; are you afraid of heights?"

"No?" She grinned lopsidedly. Heights made her think of Ferris wheels. Man, she loved those when she was a kid. Oh, wait, no, she _still_ loved them now. "Are we gonna go to an amusement park or something?"

Yang saw something glinting in those gold eyes, but was too dazed to try and find out what.

"Or something."

* * *

 **There is no such thing as too much fluff.**

 **Blake, why you gotta be so mean? :3**

 **The next chapter will finally focus on Ruby and Weiss… and the tension between them. Bumblebee will, of course, help them… in the most Bumblebee way you can imagine. Can anyone guess what that is? ;)**

 **If you enjoy this chapter, be sure to check out my P*treon page and help me get through my very frustrating life. It's under the same name as this account - AKA, Clementine Davidson - and you'll get a 1k-words preview/sneak-peek of the next chapter.**

 **It was pretty fun for me to write out this chapter. Not only do I get to write lots of fluff, but I also can really tap into their current relationship and explore it further so you, as the readers, will have a sense of how each characters view each other.**

 **I know you people must have a sense of what their relationship has evolved to from the previous chapters, but in this chapter, we get to really focus on them as a couple, which is a plus.**

 **This chapter also serves as a kind of 'break' from the previous chapters before we move on to the future chapters where we focus more on White Rose.**

 **See you all next week! (hopefully)**


	28. Buzzing for Answers (Part 1)

**Hey guys, welcome back!**

 **These past few weeks have been crazy. Fortunately, I write ahead of time. I might need to pull a hiatus someday, though. That's not a question- but it won't be for another month, and I can promise that it will end on a satisfying note.**

 **This chapter will be a bit different from the rest. It's something I've been meaning to try. It's not something huge or something that'll require you people to think or something.**

 **It actually has something to do with the transitions.**

 **You'll see what I mean~ ;)**

 **For now, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Ruby was... not very happy.

Though, a more logistic part of her told her she should be, because, well...

She was practically a star right now.

Ever since that fateful day three days ago - the one where her sister made up a 'brilliant' plan to choose her as a replacement for Neptune Vasilias - things had... change.

People had changed. Or, more specifically, they started to change around _her._

She slowly came to this realization when first going to her class... only for _dozens_ of her _classmates_ to surround her asking for pictures and autographs.

Heck, even her _teacher_ had asked how it felt now that she had stepped into the world of fame.

Back then, her only reply had been "Wait, what?" still not fully comprehending this new revelation.

Ruby had begun to truly realize how that concert had changed her the more she stuck around other people.

People began whispering. Not in a bad way, per se, but in a variety of... "OMG that's Ruby Rose I can't _believe_ she went to our school!" or "Heh, you know one time she _let_ me borrow her pencil and I _still_ have it" or "Damn, who knew Rose could be _so_ badass"

She'd always blushed at that last part. She'd never consider herself as anything close to badass. The only words she always associated herself were with 'geek', 'awkward', and 'awkwardly geeky'

… And maybe even 'geekily awkward', if that was even a thing.

She'd tried to get away from the inevitable truth by going into social media - she was immediately greeted by...

 _ **Ruby Rose: The Child Prodigy and New Member!**_

 _ **Will Neptune be Replaced by The Rose Girl?!**_

 _ **The New Member of Hunters and Huntresses!**_

That had been a rather... wake-up call.

A wake-up call that her life was no longer the same.

At first, her thought was; _Oh no! These people think I'm actually in the band!_

Of course, she couldn't blame them.

After all, Yang's 'awesome' plan was to make sure everyone thought she was a new member.

But slowly as she had walked in the crowded hallways, people had called out to her, showering her with all kinds of compliments, her thoughts changed into a simple; _Wow, I'm famous._

The rest of her classes had been filled with her trying to subtly tell everyone that she wasn't really officially the new member of the band... not that anyone had listened.

Her friends had been happy for her. _Especially_ Jaune.

He was more thrilled than she could ever be, asking if she could get him to meet up with Weiss Schnee just once.

Weiss Schnee...

 _... Weiss._

Ruby _should_ be happy.

On a normal occurrence, she _would_ be.

How could she not? After all, people were starting to notice her; they began to acknowledge her skills as a guitarist.

It was every struggling musician's dream; to be noticed.

And, because of that concert...

All eyes were on her.

The spotlight was given to her and her only.

She really should've been happy.

But she wasn't.

Because...

"Weiss."

* * *

"Weiss."

The mentioned girl's head tilted upwards, towards the one who had spoken her name. 'The one' turned out to be none other than Neptune, who looked to be trying to impersonate a stern Glynda Goodwitch; crossing his arms, frowning, jaw tightening.

She sighed, wondering what sort of _ridiculous_ antiques he had gotten himself into.

Normally, she would give him an even sterner look that would falter his own and snap at him with a single "What?"

But lately, she had been a little... tired.

Yes. That was a word for it.

Tired. Because her thoughts had constantly been filled by a certain red-haired brunette that she had _kissed_ in what felt like only an hour ago.

So, because of her tiredness, she sighed and said with a voice weaker than normal, "What is it, Neptune?"

The boy's eyes widened. He was momentarily taken aback by her lack of iciness. But he regained his bearings only seconds later.

"Why didn't you answer my texts?"

 _Oh. That. Because I haven't checked my phone ever since I kissed Ruby. Because I'm too scared of what she wants to tell me and how I'll respond._

Obviously, she couldn't give him that answer - the real answer, that was.

So, she improvised.

"Battery died."

Granted, it wasn't a very _good_ excuse, but she was dealing with Neptune here, so it didn't really matter.

Even now, he looked at lost, possibly debating internally on how he would respond. Eventually, he responded in a muttering, "Why didn't you charge it?"

Her pale blue eyes narrowed. "Because it _just_ died."

The poor boy cringed immediately at her words. All signs of his previous facade of anger melting away into his real self - a not very stern child.

He tried to diffuse the tense situation that he'd created by coughing and looking away. "Anyway," he said, turning to look at her with an awkward, apologetic smile. Good. He _should_ be sorry. "I gave you a few links to some articles I read. You should check them out."

She was about to question a few things - like what kind of articles did he read? Or why did he want her to read it as well? Or, _most_ importantly, since when did _he_ read? - but before she could so much as open her mouth, he was already shoving his phone inches away from her face which he had fished from his pockets.

"C'mon, read it!" he said one millisecond after he had forcibly tried to merge his device with her face.

She grumbled but chose to oblige first before she yelled at him.

... She paled.

 _ **Are Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee DATING?!**_

 _ **These are PROOFS that the two girls are IN LOVE!**_

She pushed the offending device away from her, fully aware of how her cheeks slowly began to feel warmer. She glued her eyes towards the uninteresting floor.

She didn't want to meet his eyes.

"Do you have something to say, Weiss?"

 _Oh. Yes. Many things, in fact._

But she wasn't about to say any of those things to him of all people.

"No."

There was a still silence for a few seconds.

She didn't need to look at him to know his features was slowly softening into one of worry.

"Weiss." When he spoke, his voice was laden with gentleness. It made her angry and weak at the same time.

Angry because...

Why did he care?

He had nothing to do with this.

He shouldn't care about her.

She didn't deserve this worry.

She was the one who'd caused this.

She was the one who had crossed a line.

She was the one who had practically _assaulted_ her close friend.

She was the one who had kissed Ruby without her consent.

"Weiss, you know you can always-" The loud barrage knocking on their door interrupted his words, and he sighed in response to being cut off. "Sun! The door isn't locked!" More knocking. He made a sound half-way between a sigh and a growl. She heard him walking towards the entrance door to open it, saying, "I swear to Dust, Sun, if this is a prank, I'm gonna-"

There was a long moment of silence before he eventually spoke again.

"You're... not Sun."

* * *

"You're... not Yang."

A blush of embarrassment slowly faded into her cheeks. She immediately regretted saying "Dammit Yang! Did you lose your keys again! Why do I have to do everything around here!?" when she had heard the knocking on her apartment door.

In her defense, she barely had friends enough as it was, and none of them _ever_ came to her apartment since they were all just as awkward as she was. She didn't expect any mails or deliveries - and Yang hadn't texted her telling her she was expecting any deliveries either.

So when there was knocking, her immediate thought was that it was her sister, Yang.

... It wasn't Yang.

"No, I'm not Yang."

It was Yang's girlfriend.

Blake Belladonna.

The girl who shared the stage with her five days ago.

The girl who had given her the best pep talk she had had in years.

The girl who could potentially be her sister-in-law.

The girl who was now looking at her with amusement, probably because of her words earlier.

"I-I, umm, sorry, Blake, err... Yang's not here."

Great. Now she was Awkward Ruby, AKA, 'Very Ruby' - as Yang once had called it.

A dark brown eyebrow rose when Blake shook her head, her smile still present and as warm as she'd remembered it all those days ago.

"I'm not here for Yang."

Her shoulders slackened a little. If she's not here for Yang, then...?

"Umm... sorry, but Zwei is still in Patch with Dad."

Her response was met with a chuckle and a shake of the head.

"No, I don't like dogs."

The first thing she'd wanted to say was _how come?! They're the third best thing to ever exist right after cookies and strawberries!_ but she refrained herself once she realized that Blake was a cat faunus.

... Was it racist to immediately assume she disliked dogs because of her faunus heritage?... Probably.

"Umm..."

Why would Blake be here?

 _Oh. Oh no. Maybe..._

"Is it because I did too well on the concert and now you all hate me?"

 _Yes!_ That must be it! Why else would she come all this way?!

"No," a chuckle, "that's not why I came here. None of us could ever hate you, even when you did too well."

Oh. Bummer.

"Okay, umm... Can I..." No. That was the wrong type of question. "May I ask why you're here?" Yep. Better. Ruby was dealing with an intelligent human- err, faunus here. The least she could do was use more smart words... smarter words... more smart words... erm...

"Yes. You may."

Crap. Not smart enough. Why does Yang have to have such a smart girlfriend?!

"Umm... then... Why are you here?" she tried a second time, wishing this question was the key to getting her the right answer; the answer to why the heck was Blake Belladonna standing in front of her doorsteps right now.

Blake gave her a smile that was kind and mysterious at the same time.

"I want to take you out to dinner."

* * *

"I want to take you out to dinner."

It took Weiss six whole seconds to fully process the fact that, yes, Yang Xiao Long had just said those words.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Weiss was, as previously mentioned, tired.

She was too tired to deal with everything.

She was fed up with trying to deal with anything and everything.

She wanted some peace and quiet - now more than ever.

But... when Yang Xiao Long, Ruby's older sister, Blake's girlfriend, but most importantly, an annoying blonde oaf, suddenly came to her hotel saying she wanted to take her out to dinner...

She knew she would get anything _but_ what she wanted.

"A dinner!" she cheered, throwing her arms up. It was an exaggerated motion, in her not-so-humble opinion.

"... Why?" was her simple question.

"So we can get to know each other" was the simpler answer.

A white eyebrow rose.

She stared at Yang, wearing her 'Are you serious?' face.

Yang stared back. Her face said 'I don't care about anything and I love life'.

They, alone, maintained their gaze - each one bringing in a different sense of intensity.

"Umm... Should I be concerned that Blake's girlfriend is asking another girl out?" A short pause. "And that girl happens to be Blake's best friend."

Only they weren't so alone.

Neptune was there. Standing right beside Weiss. Looking just as confused as ever. Stupid, clueless Neptune.

"Don't involve yourself in this one, Neptune," she said very sternly.

"Yeah," agreed the ridiculously tall blonde, having the decency to look apologetic, "sorry, buddy, but this isn't about you."

"Aww." And with that, he disappeared from their view... by going to his own room only ten or less so feet away from hers and Blake's.

Now, it was just the two of them, truly alone.

"So, what do you say, Weissy?"

A wave of emotions crushed her chest at that oh-so-familiar nickname. But she swallowed and hardened herself. The girl didn't seem to notice, or if she did, she wisely chose not to take notice or say anything about it.

" _Don't_ call me Weissy," she warned, perhaps a little more biting than necessary.

A yellow eyebrow rose in what seemed to be interest.

"Alright then, _Princess_ ," she said with her hands up, causing Weiss to sigh. Well, she very much preferred the brute to call her 'Princess' than using the nickname Ruby had given her. "Wanna go?"

A pair of perplexed blue eyes blinked.

"... Right now?"

"Yup!" The 'p' was popped.

"... No."

She made a move to slam the door shut - ready to completely forget everything about this ever happened and go back to sulking about her ruined relationship with Ruby Rose - but then she heard a loud "Ow!" and realized the idiot of a blonde had planted her foot on the doorframe, preventing the door to close.

Weiss stood there, shocked, letting the door slowly opened by itself while Yang held her definitely-injured foot, cursing things amongst the lines of "Fuck!" and "Dammit!" and "Fucking dammit!"

Once her shock had died down, she immediately yelled out, "What was _that_ about?!"

"I saw a couple of guys do it in the movies! Didn't think it'd hurt _this_ much!"

This blonde...

"Of course it hurts! I _slammed_ the Dust-forsaken door!" she reasoned, then grabbed the brute's arm and dragged her across the room as she limped and cursed a bunch of 'Ouch' and 'Fuck's.

Weiss pushed the blonde on her bed - the blonde in question bouncing when hitting the mattress - who then looked up at her with such wide eyes. "Wha-"

"Open your shoe."

The blonde in question blinked, then grinned in such an unholy-way. "Oh, I see~ now," she sung, her grin increasing tenfold. "Geez, Princess, I never knew you-"

"Shut up." Her voice truly showed how exasperated she was.

The blonde froze, then chuckled as she complied. "Alright, Princess."

Weiss leaned, inspecting the supposedly-damaged foot. It didn't seem to be too injured - which was great, because she didn't want Blake, or worse, Ruby to worry. There was a slit cut on the side of it, near the heels. That appeared to be only it. _Hopefully, at least._

"Wait here. I'll go get the bandages."

She managed to stand up and take a couple of steps before Yang called out to her. "Hey, Weiss."

The heiress stopped.

That was the first time Yang had ever called her by her real name. Ever. Not even on that night before she flew to Vale did she ever call her by her real name.

She slowly turned around, apprehensive.

"What?"

Yang sat there, both hands holding her injured foot, yet still managing to look as if nothing was wrong...

"Thanks. I can see why Blake likes you."

"... I can see why Blake likes you too, Yang."

She left to find the important first aid kit before she could see Yang reacting.

It was no big deal.

After all, Yang had called her by her own name, it was only fair that she began to do the same.

Fixing the blonde wasn't all that hard to do, especially when she didn't squirm or cry out in pain. She was taking this all too well.

"Why don't you look... in pain?" she inquired.

The blonde shrugged. "Used to do boxing. Cuts like these are no big deal."

"Oh." Well, at least it explained why the blonde's muscles were rather... toned. "I assume you quit?"

"Yeah" was the simple answer. Far too simple for it not to be at least a little suspicious.

"May I ask why?" she asked, her tone somewhere between intrigued and... annoyed.

"Because of reasons."

Weiss squinted her eyes.

"You're making this more difficult than necessary," she stated, her intrigue fading away, leaving only annoyance. It was as if the blonde knew how to push her buttons.

"I'm making what difficult?"

Yes. She _definitely_ knew how to push her buttons. She had a feeling Blake had something to do with this. That girl _was_ an introvert, but that didn't mean she wouldn't enjoy mischief.

"Trying to get to know you," she snapped. Honestly, what did Blake see in this dumb brute?

"Oh." The blonde hummed... _far_ longer than she actually needed to. "I guess you're right." She gave Weiss a bright smile... It lifted her dark mood. Somewhat. Only because of how similar her smile was to Ruby's. "May I ask you a few questions as well, then?"

Weiss blinked. Well, it did sound fair.

"I suppose."

Weiss was finally done patching up the blonde. It wasn't even a big injury, to begin with. She just liked to take her time and clean off the wound - in case there were infections of some kind.

She, of all people, knew how much a cut could hurt - even if it wasn't that big.

The blonde gave her a smile that spoke of her gratitude much more than any kind of thank you, and she returned it, albeit a much smaller, and definitely more awkward one.

It wasn't often that people gave her a smile as bright as Yang's, especially a genuine one at that.

Yang tested her foot by moving it in all directions. If she was in pain, she hid it well. Very well. She put her shoe back on - a little slowly. She then looked up at Weiss, all traces of her usual mirth gone.

"What happened?"

Weiss' heart skipped a beat.

She'd been asking that same question over and over after it had happened.

... But there was no way she could tell Ruby's sister that.

"What do you mean?"

Maybe there was still away to avoid this, even if it was inevitable.

Those lilac eyes were stern. Very stern. Weiss found herself frozen in place, unable to move. She also realized something very important:

There was no escape from this.

"You know what I mean."

Yang was... Yang was Ruby's sister. No matter how brutish or annoying she could be at times - she still deserved to know what happened.

And Weiss...

Weiss had to tell her what happened.

It didn't matter whether she wanted to or not.

It was a _must._

She would tell Yang what happened - even if Yang hated her for it.

Pale blue eyes looked down.

She didn't want to look at Yang.

She was... ashamed.

"... I kissed her."

Three simple words.

How could three simple words be so hard to say?

But she'd done it anyway.

There. She'd done it.

There was no turning back now.

"I... kissed her," she repeated. "It was on the cheek, but I still kissed her," she elaborated. Her hands clenched into fists. Dust, she hated herself. She hated what she'd done. "I didn't ask her." That was the worst part. "She didn't know anything. I... I broke her trust."

And once a trust was broken, a relationship would never be the same again, no matter how much a person would try to amend it.

She'd broken Ruby's trust.

She'd broken Ruby's trust.

She'd crossed a line.

She'd crossed a line she shouldn't ever cross.

Not with Ruby.

 _Not with Ruby._

It didn't matter how she felt towards the girl.

Ruby saw her as a friend.

Ruby was her friend.

And she'd...

She'd betrayed her trust.

When she was the most vulnerable - Weiss had kissed her.

She...

She was a fool.

An arrogant, selfish fool.

She knew what was coming.

She deserved what was coming.

She looked up to face Yang - ashamed, but unafraid - and closed her eyes.

Yang did say she used to do boxing.

She must quite pack a punch.

Weiss braced herself and waited.

Waited for the inevitable.

Something she could no longer avoid.

Something she shouldn't ever avoid.

Something she knew she deserved.

Something that...

Something that never came.

"Yang?"

"Yeah?"

The blonde sat there.

Her eyebrows weren't furrowed. Her jaws weren't clenched. Her hands didn't ball into fists.

There was no anger in her eyes.

There was no disappointment either.

 _What...?_

 _Why isn't she...?_

"I kissed her without her consent, Yang," she stated factually, ignoring the way her voice wavered and hitched.

Yang should hate her.

She shouldn't even want to look at her.

She should be disgusted.

She shouldn't...

She shouldn't be this.

She shouldn't look _calm._

"The thing is, Weiss..." she said, her voice soft, smooth, and caring. "I don't think you did."

"... What?"

* * *

 **I never liked ending chapters on a cliffhanger - mostly because I think it's "cheap", but hey, I don't know how else I can end the chapter. Plus, you know my rule: The word count is somewhere between 3k to 5k, depending on the content itself.**

 **Also, yay! Ladybug and Freezerburn interaction! Technically, both pairings had interacted before, but in the next few chapters, we'll get to see them finally build a stronger relationship.**

 **And, hey, the transitions… or scene-change… or POV-change… or whatever you like to call 'em, you know what I'm talking about, right?**

 **I personally think it's fun to have to tackle how I should end one scene and how to connect it to the other. I normally don't do this, and this will not last, but… hey, why not have a little fun, right?**

 **If you wish to support me, then go check out my P*treon page under the same name, and get more content in return.**

 **And, lastly…**

 **Get it? "BUZZING" for answers? Because it's bumblebee and bee buzzes?... Heh. I'm a genius.**

 **See y'all next week~!**


	29. Buzzing for Answers (Part 2)

**So, I forgot to update my story yesterday… and, for once, I actually have a reason for my lateness: I went home at 10 o'clock… Band practise, bruh.**

 **I apologize for those of you who've waited. Really, I do. But as soon as I got home, all I could think of was which PJs I should wear.**

 **Here's the chapter, hope you enjoy~**

* * *

"... What?"

Ruby's weight shifted entirely to one foot - her right foot. Meanwhile, her left foot traced circles on the wood-tiled floor; the floor she was currently looking at, as opposed to the girl in front of her.

She bit her lip, unsure of what to say.

So she started to walk.

"I'll explain on the way," she muttered.

Her footsteps were so loud compared to Blake's. In fact, she could only hear the girl's footsteps because she was listening closely.

She wondered if it had something to do with Blake having another pair of ears, or if she just walked very quietly.

Her eyes found two things - the same plain dark-colored floor... and her shoes. Red black shoes.

It wasn't interesting.

But it was safer than looking at Blake.

"Ruby?"

She couldn't fight the blush growing on her face - couldn't stop it.

She knew Blake deserved answers.

She shouldn't keep the band member in the dark.

"Yang... had told me what to do in these types of situations," she began, looking up when the elevator door was in front of her only to press the button and look back down again. In the corner of her eyes, she saw Blake, standing there, looking at her expectantly.

So she continued.

"If there are boys or girls who tried to... _force_ themselves on me. Even if it's a short kiss, Yang told me if I'm not comfortable with it even the slightest bit-"

That was when she finally looked into a pair of amber eyes. They were filled with many emotions, understandably. But the most revealing and notable was the shock.

"-I should always push them away. _Always._ " She let a few seconds passed without words, knowing the bassist needed to fully digest this information first before she continued. "Yang told me that, countless times. It doesn't matter if I'd known them for _years._ It doesn't matter if they looked shady and could _hurt_ me."

A beat of silence passed, she needed to gather a semblance of strength to finally admit the last part.

"It doesn't matter if they're my closest friend." Silver eyes watched as the eyes of gold slowly but surely widened in a wave of emotions. "If I _don't_ want them to kiss me, then I _will_ push them away."

Blake spoke, after a long while. Ruby couldn't blame her for being at lost.

"Then... that means..."

A ding.

The elevator door slid open.

Ruby went in without a word.

Shortly after, Blake followed.

The view of the wood-tiled floor was replaced with a metallic-tiled one.

Ruby pushed the lobby button, earning another 'ding' in response.

She sighed.

"That's not all."

There was rumbling before she felt herself going down.

This was the only time Ruby wished elevator music still existed.

As annoying as they sounded - they were better than what she was currently dealing with; suffocating silence.

She hated the silence.

She knew Blake was waiting for her to say something - to tell her more about what happened, but...

She was just... embarrassed.

But I need to tell her, the strong-willed part of herself declared. She NEEDS to know.

So Ruby spoke.

"I don't think Weiss realized it, but... right before she kissed me, right before she told me to close my eyes, I... I saw her... I looked at her. Blake, she... I knew that look. I've _seen_ that look a couple of times. I _knew_ what it meant. Yang had warned me about it. I knew, Blake."

She repeated that last part - only with much more emphasis.

"I _knew._ "

The door opened.

Ruby walked away from the suffocating box.

She stopped.

Blake hadn't taken a single step.

She looked back.

Blake looked...

She looked bewildered.

"You... You let her kiss you."

Heh.

Yang really did have such a smart girlfriend.

She didn't bother trying to hide her blush. What was the point, anyway? If Blake could figure out her letting Weiss kiss her, then she must know why as well.

"I did."

It felt so... relieving to say that.

"I could've pushed her away the moment she leaned towards me," she stated. "Heck, I knew what she wanted to do the moment she told me to close my eyes. But I did it anyway." She sighed deeply. "I knew the look she was giving me, Blake."

The bedroom eyes.

That was the kind of eyes Weiss had.

That was the look Weiss had given her.

That...

That was the moment Ruby knew her feelings were returned.

It was obvious from the start, now that she thought of it.

The way Weiss had treated her... the way she had called her 'Rozē' in that beautiful, soft Atlesian accent.

It was obvious from the start.

Ruby was just too naive - too thick - to notice it.

"Ruby... I'm not mad at you... if that's what you think."

Her head snapped up.

Blake had taken a few steps without her notice. She was now only a foot away from her.

Silver eyes searched deeply into a pair of gold-like eyes.

True to her words, she found no resentment, no anger, no fury... nothing of the sort.

Instead, what she found made her glad.

Because there was a deep level of understanding in her eyes.

"Let's go," the older girl said, circling one hand around her shoulder, dragging Ruby closer towards her as she began to walk. Ruby nodded as she hummed in response, following along. She didn't know exactly where they were going, after all, other than they were going to somewhere where they could have dinner together. "And Ruby?"

She looked up. "Yeah?"

"Thank you."

* * *

"Thank you."

The blonde stopped just a shy away from fully exiting the lobby. "For what?"

"For telling me," Weiss elaborated, wishing with all her might that the girl wouldn't be able to see her pink cheeks.

Yang gave her a toothy grin. She looked exactly like Ruby. It... comforted her.

"It's no problem, Weiss. You deserved to know, after all."

That was the second time Yang had called her using her real name.

Weiss found herself smiling. And it wasn't a fake smile.

"C'mon, then, we don't want to be late for our dinner date, correct?"

Weiss stared at Yang with a raised eyebrow and a hint of a smile, then turned to leave the building.

She heard Yang's infectious laughter shortly after - and also her rather loud and boisterous footsteps.

"You're right, My Love~" Yang teased in a singing voice once she was walking next to Weiss. The heiress took notice of her limping from her previous injury, and made sure to walk slower than usual. "We wouldn't want to miss our... _special_ date, wouldn't we, Honey."

"No," she replied, her dry voice a stark contrast with Yang's much more... dynamic one. "That would simply be horrible, Sweety." Yang barked in laughter. And soon, she herself couldn't help but let out a few chuckles as well. "What did you plan for this date, Dear?"

And with that, they walked to wherever Yang planned to take her, doing this weirdly-fun roleplaying thing.

They talked about any and all things - ranging from how nice the weather was and what would they name their first child - obviously imaginary, of course. She was still seventeen. She'd just begun to like Yang, how could she even like her that way?

Slowly, the knots in her shoulders loosened, and she found herself smiling more and more easily. And breathe more easily. And say things without having to worry about anyone judging her.

Huh... Maybe she was beginning to understand why Blake liked this... doofus of a blonde.

Sure, she was air-headed, thick-skulled, too confident for her own good, and had a very low sense of humor, but...

She was also kind in her own way and wiser than she would let anyone think... Not to mention caring, perspective...

And her smile...

It was... it was Ruby's smile.

It made her think about Ruby.

... It was strange to think that the girl knew what was about to happen. But, at the same time, Yang's words had really hit her.

If she didn't want to be kissed, then she should push the offending one away.

She should always push. _Always._

Yet...

When it came to Weiss...

She didn't...

Because... because she liked Weiss.

She liked Weiss as more than just a friend.

And that... that was almost relieving.

Almost.

She remembered the day where the two sisters had burst into the room unannounced.

She remembered seeing them assessing the situation; and Neptune's very horrible one.

She remembered what they had done afterward.

She remembered Yang's words, far too vividly for her own liking.

 _Ruby... did you bring your emergency pill?_

She didn't like what she heard. Not one bit.

She needed to know.

"Yang?"

The blonde in question blinked. Up to this point, they'd called each other using pet names such as 'Baby' or 'Deary'. She must notice they were going to talk about something serious - serious enough to momentarily stop their 'play'.

"Yeah?"

She swallowed and was momentarily stricken with fear. Fear of knowing the answer.

But this had something to do with Ruby.

So she needed to know.

"Why... does Ruby have those pills?"

* * *

"Why... do you have those pills?"

Ruby flinched in panic but tried not to show it to Blake. Instead, she gave the older girl an easy-going smile. "What?" Fishing out the small bottle of pills in her hoodie and showing it to the noirette and asked, "You mean these ones?"

Blake looked uncertain; torn in what she should say.

Ruby gave a hearty laugh to ease her.

"It's okay to ask, Blake." She fiddled with the cap of the bottle, looking at it with too many emotions. "Well, I guess I started having those attacks not long after my mom died."

She could feel Blake flinching at what was obviously a sensitive topic. "Ruby-"

She gave the older girl a stern, but understanding look and Blake closed her mouth.

"I'm not bothered by it anymore, I've moved on," she said with a somber smile, knowing those sweet old memories were just that; memories, but relishing it, being glad that they were made at all.

"What... exactly are they for?"

Ruby could hear another question that Blake didn't need to ask. Why did it work on Neptune?

"It's for my anxiety. I used to need to take them every day, but lately... I've been needing them less." At Blake's questioning glance, Ruby shrugged. She herself didn't know why, but hey, she wasn't about to look a gift horse at its mouth.

"But Neptune doesn't have anxiety," Blake argued.

Ruby pondered for a moment - trying to think of an answer that would satisfy the untold question.

"Did he seem nervous right before a show?"

At that, Blake's head tilted to the side, and one of her ears perked down. Wow. Cute. Ruby could see why Yang would want to date Blake.

"Yeah, but, don't all of us?" the noirette pondered, then her face turned into a more thoughtful one. "But, now that you mentioned it, yeah... he always sweats and stutters _more_ than any of us."

Ruby nodded slowly, taking in the information. After a while, she asked another question. "And after a show, does he appear more tired than he should be?"

Blake looked bewildered. Very bewildered.

"... Yeah."

"And does he have trouble sleeping?" Ruby proposed with a more confident tone. She knew what Blake would say.

"Yeah, he mentioned it a couple of times, how did you-"

"What about having trouble paying attention?"

"Yes... That too." Ruby stopped walking. Blake, after noticing she was no longer walking, stopped as well. The older girl turned to look at her. "Ruby?"

"Blake... Are you sure Neptune's condition isn't anxiety?" The other musician bit her lip and looked away, obviously unsure. The brunette sighed. "Well... It's all up to him, I guess." She began walking again. After she passed Blake, she heard very light footsteps - it was obvious who they belonged to.

Seconds later, Blake was in front of her again, as she was the one who knew where to go. However, after looking at the familiar scenery, she smirked.

"We're almost there."

* * *

"We're almost there."

Weiss raised an eyebrow at Yang's words, before looking around the vacant area. A pang of nervousness shot through her - the heiress was worried about where she was and how she would go home.

"Where exactly are we going?"

"You'll see~" was the teasing response. She should've known the brute wouldn't give her a proper answer.

She rolled her eyes and asked half-jokingly, "Are you trying to kidnap me?"

"... Maybe." That did not calm her nerves at all.

Weiss squinted her eyes and looked around.

There was something about the vacant place that seemed familiar...

"Have we... been here before?" Yang's chuckle caused her to tilt her head. "We have, haven't we?" It was more of a statement than it did a question.

Yang turned to look at her, then made a zipping sound as her fingers went through her mouth. The message was clear as day; Yang wasn't going to tell her anything.

She sighed deeply. Why she came along with Yang on this 'date' was beyond her. She should just stop right now and demand the brute into telling her what exactly was she planning and threaten to leave if she wasn't given any answers.

Yes. That was exactly what she should do.

... Too bad she was too tired to - as Sun had once put it - 'give zero fucks'.

Weiss diverted her attention back to Yang's leg - more accurately, her injured one. She squinted, trying to find if there were any limps or strains or... something.

"How's your leg doing?" asked the heiress. She was only a little concerned for the idiotic brute. Yes, _only_ a little.

Yang looked down to see her own leg and swing it around - kicking air - as she grinned. "Pretty good, actually. You did a good job banging it up." Weiss was about to thank her when she said, "Thanks, Weiss, I know it must've cost you... an arm and _a leg._ "

Weiss groaned. Very deeply. Very painedly.

The 'gag' was so bad it rendered her speechless.

She looked into Yang, hoping her eyes would convey just how much she wanted the girl to say no more of this monstrous, dangerous, horrible excuse of jokes.

It appeared she didn't convey enough of her feelings towards Yang's type of 'humor' - either that or Yang did notice her suffering, but chose to carry on regardless - because she said, "I really do thank you, though. Without it, I could never _stand_ to be."

"Yang. _Stop._ " Weiss choked on her words. She was positive that she would empty her stomach's content if Yang said any more.

"Oh, you want me to stop?" For a moment, she was thankful that her message seemed to be getting through to her thick skull... but she soon realized that was not the case when she saw Yang's eyes, and what lies inside it. "Prove that you want me to, then... Bend on one _knee._ "

Weiss blinked.

Yang paled; horrified.

"Alright, so, that's not exactly a leg pun, but it still works."

"No, Yang... No, it _doesn't._ " She might not like puns in the first place, but even she knew the lines between puns who worked and ones that did not.

They dwelled in silence - save for the clacking of her heels and the brute's boots.

Unfortunately, the silence eventually was broken.

"Hey, Princess?" She only hummed in response. "Guess what happens to the girl who fought with her boyfriend with wooden legs?"

"... Yang..." Her tone was threatening and cautious. "Don't you-"

"She _broke_ it off!"

"Dammit Yang!"

* * *

"Dammit Yang!"

"... I assume your sister has made a terrible pun again?" Blake's voice was littered with cautiousness and incredulity, her face a mixture of confusion and amusement.

Ruby sighed and shook her head. She showed Blake the article she'd found on her phone; namely, ones about her being the new member of Blake's band.

"None of this would've happened if it weren't for her stupid plan," the brunette complained in a mutter. She blushed a little and looked away when the older girl laughed, possibly because of her so-called 'cute' whining even though she wasn't _that_ adorable and others were just overreacting.

"Yes, but her 'stupid' plan is what saved us from getting backlashed by the media." Blake's tone was filled with not even a hint of offense, yet Ruby still flinched anyway.

"I-it's not that I don't want you guys to be okay," she assured as she raised both hands. "It's just," she frowned, "now people think I'm special."

"Are you saying you're not?"

Ruby could only chuckle and say, "Of course I'm not." She gave Blake a smile that she could only pray was cheerful enough. "I'm just me."

"Then why does Weiss have feelings for you?"

Crap. That was a good point, she realized as her cheeks slowly become warmer, their color turning into her name - both first and last.

Silver eyes narrowed in thought as she half-consciously began fidgeting.

"Eh," she said, trying to be dismissive. "It must be one of those 'two weeks and then it's gone' crushes."

"Oh, really?" asked the older girl.

She replied with a cheerful "Yep!" Her grin slightly faltering when Blake looked at her as though she was forgetting a very obvious piece of the puzzle. She didn't know why Blake was looking at her like that, she wasn't missing _any_ point.

"Then why does Weiss keep on talking to you for six months?"

Oh.

That was a good question.

"We're friends. We talk to each other," Ruby tried to reason.

"But not every day." Ruby noticed Blake had stopped, and when looking forward, she realized why.

They were at their destination.

A very familiar destination.

"You're taking me to Adel's," Ruby stated, more towards herself than towards the noirette, smiling.

She then sensed pressure on her shoulder, soon recognizing it as Blake's hand. It was warm. It relaxed her.

She looked into the pair of gold-like eyes.

Those eyes stared back with a sense of great knowingness.

"Ruby," she said, her voice deep and a little raspy. "You are special. And don't ever think otherwise. You're special to Yang, you're special to me, and you're special Weiss, even if you think otherwise."

Ruby's eyes were wide.

Her jaw hung open.

And maybe there were the beginning of tears in her eyes.

She took a breath and opened her mouth to speak-

-but a buzzing accompanied by a tune cut her off before she could even begin.

Blake looked apologetic when she grabbed her phone.

"I'm so sorry, Ruby, but I have to take this. You go on inside, I'll be there in a few minutes."

Ruby nodded numbly, a little curious as to who was calling Blake and what the call was about that it made Blake walk away just a shy away from the entrance door.

As she went into the familiar place, noticing how empty the restaurant was, all she could say was;

"O... kay."

* * *

 **"If I _don't_ want them to kiss me, then I _will_ push them away."**

 **Always remember that, everyone. Consent matters. Also, you should remember that exact phrasing because in the future chapter... those _exact_ phrasings will be important. _Very_ important. So... remember that, alright?**

 **If you re-read back in when Weiss kissed Ruby, you'll notice that I put hints of how Ruby knew she was about to kiss her. I've planned this from the start, so it's nice to see that things are slowly piecing together.**

 **Hmm… I wonder what will happen next. Well, actually, I do know what will happen next, but you don't… Poor you. You can check out my P*Treon and get early chapters (sort of like RT's First Members, but way cheaper.) So go check that out.**

 **See you guys next week!**


	30. Trapped

**Hi guys, and welcome back!**

 **So… I don't really have much to say. Life's been great; Got some As on assignments, got along with most students merrily, skipped camping because f*ck that "bonding with friends" and "exploring the beauty that is nature" sh*t, amirite?**

* * *

"O...kay," was the last thing Yang heard before she ran - as well as anyone with one injured leg could run, which was, admittedly, not much - to the back door which people rarely use.

She needed a place where Weiss couldn't hear her talking.

Yang fished out her phone and pressed on a number she'd committed to memory. She put her device on her ear.

It rang once.

Twice.

Thrice.

When finally...

 _"Yang?"_

She grinned at the beautiful voice that belonged to her partner. "The one and only" was her sly reply. She then coughed to regain _some_ form of seriousness and asked, "Is Ruby inside?"

 _"Yes,"_ Blake simply replied.

Yang nodded before she asked, "Did you lock the door?" She was thankful Coco was generous enough to grant her wish and give her two sets of keys without much a hassle - all she did was raise her eyebrows when Yang had requested such a ridiculous offer.

She wouldn't know how to explain herself otherwise.

She couldn't just tell the woman who owned the place; _Hey, boss, so my sister and her partner slash girlfriend have these issues they really need to resolve so me and my partner slash girlfriend decided to help them resolve it by locking them in your restaurant._

 _Oh, and we also need all of your chefs and waiters to stop working for an hour just so they could have some privacy._

Yeah, that would conversation work out so well.

 _"What about you?"_ Blake asked, her voice a little distorted due to the not-so-strong connection. _"Is Weiss inside yet? I don't see her."_

"Don't worry, I'm planning it, soon, she'll be locked inside," Yang said with a grin.

Then she felt it.

The dark, furious aura.

The numbing, freezing chill.

This... this must be her...

 _Weiss._

She was behind her; she must be.

There was no one else capable of dropping the temperature into such a low degree with her fury only.

Turning around, Yang cursed herself for being right.

There, the very small-sized girl stood, her anger looming- no, towering over Yang, casting a large shadow, causing her to let out a small high-pitched "Eep!" at the sheer terror of it.

"H-hey, Princess-"

" _What_ did you _mean_ ," she cut off, her voice more venomous than any snake, "by _locking me in_?"

Oh boy, that was trickier than any question she received in her classes whenever she got caught dozing off.

"Umm..."

 _C'mon Yang._

 _Think. Use your brain._

 _Find an exit._

 _Find the door to your freedom!_

An invisible light-bulb flickered on her head.

 _That's it._

 _DOOR!_

In a flash, she grabbed Weiss, shoved her into the building through the back door, and locked it before the heiress could pound on the metallic frame.

Ah... The sweet sense of freedom...

"YANG XIAO LONG! LET ME OUT THIS INSTANT!" came the shrill voice of the heiress, followed by poundings. Very strong poundings.

The freedom of not having to deal with Weiss Schnee...

The _best_ kind of freedom.

Putting her phone on her ear, she spoke nonchalantly, "So, yeah, Weiss is in."

"... I heard."

Yang blinked once. "Oh." She paused for a moment before she dismissively said, "Then let's go get some ice cream or something."

"I SWEAR TO VALE YANG YOU WILL BE _MANGLED_!"

She plugged one hand into her ear, trying to block out the enraged noisy yellings of Weiss as she walked away from the trapped heiress.

Even from a dozen feet, she could still hear her roars. Frowning slightly, all Yang could say was;

"Damn."

* * *

"Damn."

Blake had trapped Ruby.

And she just now came to that revelation.

When Blake had suddenly came into her apartment unannounced asking if they could have dinner, Ruby had been confused... but thrilled.

Mostly thrilled.

She'd assumed the noirette had _finally_ wanted to try and bond with the sister of her girlfriend, and what better way to do so than through a nice meal.

Even while they had walked, they'd gotten to know more about each other.

They'd gone from 'maybe sort of friends?' to 'definitely friends!' in a matter of minutes... well, it was almost an hour, but that wasn't the point.

When they'd arrived at the restaurant only for Blake to leave the girl inside alone, she had been confused and apprehensive.

Mostly apprehensive.

Blake said it's not a very long phone call, she had tried to reason. She'll come back.

Ruby looked around the building as she walked deeper inside it - an action she would immediately regret soon.

Some of the lights had been switched off. And there was no one there.

At first, she'd assumed that there was some kind of electrical problems that caused the lights to go off. It would somewhat explain why the building was vacant - perhaps most of the people who worked there were scared of the dark and didn't want to be in the building...

Yeah. Surely, that was it.

That was what she had kept telling herself.

Because there was no way Blake would try to do anything harmful to her.

But then Ruby realized something...

Blake was Yang's girlfriend.

She had run back towards the entrance door as quickly as her legs could carry her.

She had seen it and gasped.

It was being closed.

... No.

No.

"No!"

She couldn't be too late-

And... she was too late.

The door had been closed. And locked.

She saw Blake peeking through one of the windows, giving her a smile that reminded her too much of her big sister.

Dust, they were really rubbing off of each other.

Her sister had intoxicated Blake with her cruel way of thinking... and harmful way of pranking.

"Blake," she half-shouted over the thick glass, recoiling at how the giant room greatly echoed her voice. "Open. The. Door." She made sure to exaggerate her mouth's movements so, in case Blake couldn't hear her, she could still read her lips.

The noirette shook her head, waved, picked up her phone, and left from Ruby's view.

And that was how Blake had trapped Ruby.

... She should've seen the signs far earlier. It was placed directly in front of her, she just chose to ignore it.

And now, here she was.

In an empty building-

"YANG XIAO LONG! LET ME OUT THIS INSTANT!"

 _... What the muffin?_

 _Is that Weiss?_

 _Why's she here?_

 _Why's she screaming my sister's name?_

... Ruby thought.

She thought real hard and real deep.

The pieces were all there... she just needed to stick them all up together...

Why would Yang and Blake lock them up together in the same empty building...?

She thought so hard she started humming.

Why...? Why-

 _Oh my fucking Dust they just lock me up in a building with Weiss._

She all but abandoned all those previous clues and signs - not caring anymore for why the pair of lovers had done such a thing, only concerned at the fact that she was alone together with Weiss.

Weiss.

The girl that she had feelings for.

The girl that most people had claimed to have feelings for her as well.

Oh, no. No. _No. NO._

She wasn't ready for this confrontation.

Not yet.

She didn't know what to say.

She didn't know what Weiss would say.

Nope. Nope. Nope.

Ruby's now clammy hands grasped her phone, ignoring her heart that pounded so badly she could hear it too clearly and swiped through her contacts until she'd found the one she was looking for.

Her fingers loomed over the call button:

Ruby pressed.

* * *

Yang pressed.

... And immediately stifled her whimper of pain.

Man.

Her foot hurt like _hell._

She'd been holding in her pain ever since it appeared - worried that Weiss would advise them not to walk anywhere because of her injury which would, therefore, cancel her entire plan - but now that she'd done her part of the mission, she was finally free to express herself... or, more accurately, her pained self.

"You pressed your wound, didn't you?"

Her head tilted up. She brightened at the sight of her wonderful girlfriend... who didn't seem to be too pleased... holding a small plastic bag in one hand, crossing the other one over her chest.

Yang squinted her eyes, thinking wisely of her next words. "... No?"

An eye roll made her pout. She should've known Blake would see through her lie, the girl never let anything slipped past her, no matter how small or inconvenient it might seem.

Blake was smart. _Too_ smart at times.

The noirette sat down on the bench, her amber eyes scouting over her naked, bandage-less, injured foot with eyes that could've fooled some into thinking she was a hawk faunus.

"Looks like the convenience store really is convenient."

Another eye roll, accompanied with a scoff. Despite those two acts, Blake's mouth twitched upward ever so slightly.

Yang smiled. Blake truly adored her jokes, even if she would never admit it.

Yang's eyes flew open when she felt Blake's finger poked a sensitive spot.

She only barely managed to suppress her cry of pain.

Through gritted teeth, she half-accused, "I thought you said no pressing."

"Sorry."

Yang softened at Blake's genuinely apologetic tone. Instead of focusing on something as icky as her wounds that might have reopened itself when she was with Weiss - especially when she'd pushed the girl inside the building, which was harder than it seemed, in spite of Weiss' small stature, she instead focused on the positive things in life.

Like the fact that there was a bench near the building, meaning Yang didn't have to painfully limp too far.

Or that the convenience store wasn't all that far away. It had taken Blake only seven minutes to half-jog half-run there, buy some bandages, and get back here again.

Or that Weiss and Ruby would now finally be able to solve their damn issue already because Dust Damn were their tension very high and very awkwardly noticeable.

Or that Blake was here.

Yeah. That last part was definitely a _very_ good thing indeed.

Whereas those other things were 'meh, I guess it's kind of a good thing', being with Blake was 'the best thing!'.

"Hold still," Blake said as she pulled out the small bottle of alcohol. She nodded warily, knowing how much it stung.

A buzzing.

Coming from her phone.

Yang picked it up. "Ruby?" she asked, causing Blake to stop the process of oiling down the cotton with the alcohol. She and Blake shared a knowing look before she answered the call. "Hi, Rubes-"

 _"Yang. Xiao. Long."_ Wait, was that Weiss? That sounded like Weiss. _"Let me OUT. Right now. Before I'll kick your butt._ " Oh, no, that was Ruby. _Damn, I guess when you love someone so much you start to become that person._

… Yang wasn't sure if she would like that very much.

She was only barely able to handle one Weiss.

"Wow, for a moment there I thought you were Weiss," she said, putting one hand on the back of her head, leaning more towards the bench as she smirked.

That smirk vanished when she felt a stinging sensation

 _"Weiss is here with me!"_ Ruby half-shouted half-whispered, her tone the very epitome of anger itself.

Yang winced and not from just the pain of her currently-being-tended injury.

"So, err, you're with her- OUCH!"

Yang looked up at Blake, who mouthed "sorry" in return, before placing her phone on her ear again... then cringing at how angry her sister sounded.

 _"No! I'm not with her! But she'll see me pretty soon! This isn't a joke, Yang! You NEED to let me out RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"_

Yang gave her an apologetic chuckle, even though she was not the least bit sorry.

"No can do, Rubes, but me and Blake have had enough of you guys acting like it's the end of the- YOUCH!" She momentarily looked up at her girlfriend who was currently hurting her. "Blake, can you be a little gentler, please?"

Her girlfriend frowned at her as if she was to blame for this.

"Well, it is your fault for being reckless."

Oh, wait, maybe it _kind of_ was her fault. But Yang wasn't going to admit that out loud. Ever. Not even to Blake.

Because she wasn't able to deny Blake's words, Yang did the alternate; rolling her eyes, then returned to her call.

"Are you with Blake?"

Yang blinked at the rather sudden question but chose to be honest with her reply. "Yes..." It sounded more like a question than it did an answer.

 _"Put me on speaker."_

Yang blinked again. "Wha-"

 _"DO IT!"_ Ruby sounded furious. Very furious. The blonde gulped before relenting, putting her phone up so both she and Blake could hear her angry little sister's words.

"Okay," she said, loudening her voice. "It's on speaker, Rubes."

 _"Blake,"_ Ruby said. _"Since I'm locked in here, can you do me one simple favor?"_

Her girlfriend tilted her head to the side, one ear drooping lower than the other - something which Yang had always found super cute. "Yes?"

 _"Punch my sister in the face for me."_

Yang's eyes widened momentarily before she let out a chuckle. "Haha, as if my own girlfriend will- OUCH!" She retreated her legs away from the girl who had hurt her, caressing it despite the injury.

"Done," Blake said, loud enough for her sister to hear.

 _"Thank you. And goodbye."_

The line went off.

Yang glared at Blake.

Blake scoffed.

"You really think I'm gonna hurt you?" she asked, rhetorically. "I was _bandaging_ you, not poking at your injury."

Yang glared harder. She refused to relent. She didn't trust her girlfriend. Not anymore.

Blake had betrayed her. She had sided with her sister and harmed her.

Yang's poor heart could never take another stab. Especially not from Blake.

Blake rolled her eyes.

"Quit being so dramatic," she said.

Yang didn't budge.

"Fine... Let me buy you some ice cream as an apology."

Yang budged at the mention of the delicious and sweet treat.

Ice creams were always a great deal - no matter what the deal included.

"Really?" Yang asked with skeptical eyes.

Blake gave Yang her signature small smile.

"Sure. Why not?"

* * *

"Sure. Why not?" Weiss asked towards herself, mimicking that blonde brute's voice. "Trapping my girlfriend's friend seems to be a _super_ _rad_ idea to bond with her!"

The heiress didn't actually know if that bimbo used such a... ridiculously unkempt word such as 'rad', but she was certain the girl would absolutely use the word 'super'... Yang did have a small vocabulary... because she was an _idiot._

She had long since given up on pounding on the door, knowing that, no; Yang was not on the other side of the door - because if she was, then she would've said something, being the talkative _buffoon_ that she was, and yes; she was, apparently, _not_ strong enough to be able to break the door down.

... Curse her and her lack of muscles.

Why did she have to be good at singing and playing instruments and not things that were useful... like being able to pound a stupid door down.

 _Ugh._

This was not how she imagined spending her evening.

After a moment of thinking, Weiss realized she could just call Neptune or Sun and ask them to help her...

Or maybe she'd just straight up call the police and throw that brute in jail for what she did. She deserved it for locking her up in this stupid building after Weiss had just begun to not hate her.

Yes.

The police seemed like a _much_ better idea.

She _definitely_ wasn't going overboard with this.

It was Yang's fault for messing with her.

No one messed with Weiss Schnee.

 _No one._

So she dug into her pockets, intent on finding her phone...

Her phone that was supposed to be in one of these pockets... somewhere...

Her phone which she absolutely _did not_ forget to bring...

"... Damn. Dammit. Darn." And many other curse words she didn't bother to say aloud - including the ones she couldn't even dare begin to think - mostly ones that Sun - and maybe even Blake sometimes - would use when they weren't in the best of moods.

This was Yang's fault.

Yes. Of course. Who else was to blame for all of-

 _CLANG._

-this...

"... Double darn." Was that even a curse word? She was sure it was a curse word... maybe.

She gulped.

That better not be some kind of criminal, she thought deeply with narrowed eyes... which narrowed even more when she added, or worse, rats.

It was now that she began to take note of her surroundings.

The room Yang had shoved her into was through the back door. So, judging by the... interior of the room, this appeared to be the... some sort of kitchen...

Yes, this was _obviously_ a kitchen, she _was_ in a restaurant after all.

On one hand, she could investigate the source of the sound, which would lead to three things; get saved, get killed, or kill.

She wasn't keen on being a murderer, and even if she was, she wouldn't want her first kill to be the _stranger_ she was trapped in the building with, she'd be the main suspect, and she couldn't allow _that._

Oh, and she was also unkeen on being murdered...

Because she did not want to die at the age of seventeen.

She did not want to die at all, in fact.

She didn't care if it was inevitable; she never wanted to meet death. _Ever._

On the other hand, she could stay here, which would also lead to three things; not get killed (but get very bored), get found and be killed... or get found and kill the founder.

Again, she didn't want to murder a stranger or be murdered by one.

If she wanted to murder someone, she'd rather be more prepared for it... she'd love the target to be a woman... who was tall... and blonde... and a brute... and named Yang Xiao Long...

If she wanted to murder someone, that was... which she would never do. Ever.

... But if she _would_ murder someone, that someone would _100%_ be Yang...

As Neptune had once put it, just sayin'.

She needed to-

A row of footsteps.

Pale blue eyes widened.

They were getting louder and louder, which meant whoever the potential murdered was, she or he knew where she was... which most likely had to do with her shouting to be freed from this place.

This may be the first time she ever regretted having a loud voice.

"Weiss?"

 _... Dust._

 _Dust no._

 _It can't be her!_

 _ANYONE but her!_

Weiss would take a murderer over _her_ any day...

She...

She wasn't ready...

"Weiss, I know you're here, and I know you can hear me." The angelic voice sounded cautious, which was understandable. But there was something more to it than just... cautiousness.

No, there was a deep sense of... understanding in Ruby's tone. One that made her want to laugh and cry at the same time.

It made her wonder how could she had known this girl? Or, moreso, how could she befriend such a girl?

"But Yang and Blake are right. We need to talk to each other. I don't wanna have to stop seeing you, Weiss."

Weiss... didn't deserve her.

Weiss didn't deserve such an amazing, caring, understanding, fun, optimistic, and talented musician.

She didn't deserve Ruby.

"I miss you, Weiss. I really do. But... I don't wanna force you to have to talk to me. I want you to want to talk to me on your own..."

Weiss should just stay there and hope Ruby wouldn't bother finding her.

"I'll wait here for you, Weiss."

She shouldn't.

She shouldn't want to wait for someone like her.

And Weiss definitely shouldn't come out and face her.

She really shouldn't.

... But she did so anyway.

Because Ruby wasn't the only one missing someone she cared about.

No matter how little Weiss deserved her, she wanted to see that familiar pair of eyes again...

The eyes of silver...

The eyes that were always filled with hope.

The eyes that made her believe in such hope.

Such as the hope of fixing _everything._

* * *

 **First of all, I'm sorry for delaying the White Rose confrontation. I didn't plan for it, honest. But I got so carried away with writing the chapter that I wrote far beyond the word count, and so, I have to cut it into two parts.**

 **Secondly… Well, I have nothing left to say, really. My brain is fried from writing, my mom's forcing me to exercise (I know it's good for me and all, but c'mon!), and… a bunch of other stuff.**

 **Hope you have a great day and everything. If you're not in the best place and all, hope this chapter brings a smile out from you. One of the many reasons why I wanted to write this was to make someone's day a little better, I hope I can accomplish that :)**

 **See you all next week~**


	31. Frozen Rose

**Hey guys, sorry for the late update… again. I was so busy with school, I literally forgot about my own story. Ugh. Turns out high school does that to you.**

 **Anyways, I'm glad to hear - well, read - that you guys liked the previous chapter, despite it basically being a build-up. A very fluffy build-up.**

 **Quick warning, after the next chapter is posted, I'll go on another hiatus. I don't believe it'll be long. It'll be about two or three weeks tops.**

 **Also, quick note; I love the title of this chapter :3**

 **Anyways, enjoy~!**

* * *

The first thing that came to Ruby's mind was white. Weiss' hair was always a bit of a mystery to her.

Sometimes it looked as white as snow. Other times they had a blue hue. One time Ruby thought they had a silver hue.

But now... now they looked white. And not the white of the wall paints. Not the white of the papers. Not even the white of the snow.

They looked to be the _purest_ white Ruby had ever seen.

It was... the kind of white that glowed. The kind that shone.

The kind that vanished away any and all darkness.

It made her want to touch it and feel it.

She wondered what the girl's hair would feel like when it touched her skin.

Would it be as fluffy as clouds? Or would it be silky? Perhaps it would be a little wet, as though droplets of water had been carefully sprinkled into it.

The next thing her silver eyes landed upon was her face.

'Beautiful' couldn't even begin to describe it. Neither did 'gorgeous', or 'flawless', or any of those words.

She didn't know what to make of it.

She didn't know how to try and describe a face so beautiful it made her heart soar, turn her brain into jelly, flutter the butterflies in her stomach, and so many more.

Weiss always had the kind of beauty that no one could ever replace.

The kind of beauty that couldn't be captured by cameras.

The kind that was both complex and simple.

The kind that made her feel at home.

The kind that made her feel like she could take on the whole world.

The kind that made her feel like everything was okay...

The kind of beauty that was just so... _Weiss._

Yes. It was Weiss' beauty.

There was simply... no other way to explain it.

And then...

Her own pair of grey met with her rich blue.

And there were just... too many words for her to describe a simple pair of eyes.

It was funny: how much a pair of eyes could mean to her.

It wasn't just any blue.

It was the kind of blue that reminded Ruby of a clear sky... the clearest, most beautiful afternoon sky, highlighted by the light clouds. The sky that made you want to lie on the grass and just stare at it for hours, daydreaming in peace.

Ruby wanted to stare into her eyes and let herself get lost in all of those wonderful, wonderful dreams.

"Weiss."

The name itself could be compared to a dream.

Or perhaps it was what the name carried.

Because the barrier of that name... she was a dream to Ruby.

A dream too good to be real.

And if this truly wasn't real... then Ruby never wanted to be awakened.

She wanted to stay here.

In a place where she could see Weiss.

That was all that mattered.

"Ruby."

That voice...

Dust... that voice.

The voice that made Ruby want to meet her.

The voice that made Ruby want to be with her.

The voice that made Ruby want her.

It was what caught her attention, all those time ago.

Without that voice, Ruby might not have known who Weiss was.

"Q-quit staring at me!"

Ruby blinked.

Seconds later, her cheeks were redder than her name.

"O-oh, sorry, I just- you- you just looked beautiful- I mean, your _clothes!_ They looked beautiful on you, so I couldn't help but stare- what brand is that?"

 _Nice going, me. Since when do YOU know about brands? You're not Yang. You barely know ANYTHING about fashion._

"This... is just my normal clothes."

"... Oh." Ruby looked away. _Quick! Say something! Anything!_ "It... still looked good anyway." Her quivering and higher-pitched voice made it sound like it was a question rather than a statement, and she cursed herself for it.

There was silence.

An aggravating silence.

Ruby berated herself more and more with each passing second.

She cursed herself for her stuttering.

She cursed herself for her words.

She cursed herself for her clumsiness.

She cursed herself.

Until... she didn't.

Because she heard something she never thought she would hear this soon:

Laughter.

Weiss' laughter.

Ruby looked up, just to make sure she wasn't hearing things that were unreal.

And... thank Dust, it was real.

The girl was trying to stifle in her laughter using one hand, while the other touched her stomach. Her eyes were closed, but Ruby could tell that there was some form of joy in them.

"I'm sorry- it's just- after everything, I thought you'd be mad- but instead..." There was another round of chuckles before she continued, "I should've known... I should've known you'd be you."

Ruby blinked in shock at her words.

Here she was, chiding herself for all her flaws, meanwhile, Weiss found something good in them. Something good that she wasn't sure she'd be able to see.

What a twist, it was; Weiss Schnee found her flaws endearing, while Ruby Rose hated them.

It went against her very personality.

And it surely went against Weiss' personality.

Soon, Ruby found herself laughing along as well.

Maybe it was because of how much the roles had reversed themselves.

Maybe it was because of this silly problem that had manifested between them.

Maybe it was because Weiss was laughing.

Maybe it was because there was no reason _not_ to laugh.

Well... whatever the reason was... she was glad for it.

She was glad to be laughing.

The last time she'd laugh this hard - she was with Weiss, back when things weren't as complicated as they were now, back before...

Ruby touched her cheek.

Even after this long she still remembered where those lips had touched her.

She still remembered what it felt like.

Slowly, her laughter died down.

And not long after, Weiss' laughter died down as well.

Soon, all the joys and mirth in the atmosphere died down, and a more somber and tense atmosphere took its place.

It was quiet.

Deadly quiet.

Ruby dispised the silence, and she normally would've tried to keep it from ever conjuring... but now... she knew this was not just any silence.

This was a needed silence.

A silence that could only be broken by one person. And that person was not her, no matter how much she wished it was.

Ruby did the only thing she knew she could do:

Wait and see.

Wait for Weiss to say not just something.

Wait for her to say the right thing.

Just wait...

And see.

See if she meant what she would say.

See if she truly did feel what Ruby thought she felt towards her.

The petite girl was rubbing her forearm with her hand. She also was looking back and forth between Ruby and... anything else that was not Ruby. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other every now and then.

This... was not the Weiss she knew.

The Weiss she knew was strong in not a physical way, but in many others.

She was strong in ways that counted.

She was strong in ways Ruby were not.

... Where was that Weiss?

Why wasn't she here?

This was not the girl Ruby knew.

This was not the girl she fell in lo-... not the girl she had feelings for.

 _... To hell with waiting._

What was of importance wasn't this waiting or seeing, it was Weiss.

Weiss was what mattered.

Weiss would always be what mattered to her.

... Plus, she was never good at waiting anyway.

Ruby Rose was fast, not wise.

"Weiss."

To hell with it.

To hell with it all.

She was done with waiting.

She was done waiting.

"I want to tell you."

She stepped towards Weiss, trusting that the girl wouldn't take a step back, knowing Weiss trusted her not to hurt her. Because Ruby would never even think to do such a thing.

Ruby then shook her head, finding a large mistake in her earlier phrasing, and corrected it.

"No, I want to _show_ you."

She placed one hand on the girl's cheeks, and the other snaking around the girl's waist; the acts themselves were nothing more than a red blur, and Ruby wasn't really thinking much, really, she was relying on instinct.

She took a deep breath, then...

She froze.

"... Weiss," she found herself saying, her voice short on volume, but big on emotions. Her eyes of silver found the intricately complex shade of light blue. Ruby wasn't afraid, not even when she couldn't read what lied beneath those pools of rich blue. "Will you let me show you something?"

It was obvious for both of them what that something meant.

And Ruby was dying to show her that something.

But first and foremost...

She desired- no, needed consent.

Because, in the furthest, deepest part of herself, there was another something small holding her back... something so small it barely was there... but something she listened to anyway.

And that something was doubt.

Doubt that maybe...

Just maybe...

She was imagining this.

She was imagining Weiss' trust in her.

She was imagining their entire seemingly innocent friendship.

She...

She owned a doubt that what had happened that day... wasn't real.

It was just a simple doubt.

But she knew how much consent mattered, even if Weiss returned her feelings, which Ruby knew she did.

Ruby was no fool.

She understood that just because someone returned your feelings did not mean you have the freedom to kiss them.

Even if Weiss had kissed her that day...

It didn't mean she was ready to be kissed by Ruby.

She knew that some people were simply not ready, despite everything.

And she would never kiss a person who was caught off-guard.

She would never kiss a person who wasn't ready to accept that kiss.

She knew damn well what consent was.

She knew the importance of it.

She was no fool, nor was she - as Yang would call it - a douchebag.

"If you're not ready, then it's okay," she said, managing a smile as truthful as her words, which was very.

Seconds were suddenly minutes.

She saw, in such great detail caused by their close proximity, each little face gestures the heiress made.

Weiss blinked, as though she was now only realizing Ruby was right in front of her.

Her eyebrows - which had been raised this whole time - started to drop lower and lower, slowly.

Her jaw clenched itself, causing her mouth to form a thin line.

And those pretty eyes narrowed.

Ruby saw all of that... but she could not fathom what they meant.

She would never try to begin to guess such an answer, fearing her guess might be wrong.

So she begged... not with words... not with touch...

She begged with her eyes.

And she begged so deeply.

Because truth be told, she wanted Weiss to let her show.

She needed Weiss to let her.

She wanted to show Weiss.

Oh, how much she wanted to show her.

Weiss blinked again, slowly, this time, and Ruby held her breath in response, knowing that she was about to answer.

And she did.

"You know... if I didn't want this, I could always push away."

That was it.

That was what did it.

What cut the ropes.

What broke the chains.

What spiked her lust.

That was what made her kiss Weiss.

That was what made Weiss kiss her.

... That was what made them kiss each other.

Ruby did her best to put all of what words could never tell through this kiss.

She put what words she'd always wanted to say through this kiss.

She showed Weiss what words couldn't even begin to describe.

And Weiss responded with...

With something beautiful.

Something she could never try to describe with words.

Something that just...

Something that just _was._

So, being the perfectly reasonable girl that she was, Ruby simply shut her overthinking brain and keep kissing.

* * *

Blake looked at the cone filled with a white sugary blob of treat - and an added chocolate sprinkles on top, per Yang's request - with much more intrigue than anyone should ever look at a simple ice cream.

Currently, they sat face-to-face in a small ice cream shop not too far from the restaurant. It had been nothing short of fifteen minutes after they'd agreed on getting ice cream, and only a few seconds after they'd received them.

Miraculously, Yang hadn't so much as feel a sting on her injured leg ever since Blake had tended it.

While the more reasonable answer was that her leg was simply starting to heal itself, Yang loved to think that it was because Blake had put so much care and delicacy into tending it perfectly that she couldn't even feel the pain anymore.

Yang peered her eyes away from her own cone when she heard Blake hummed but afterward shrugged it off.

She knew her girlfriend was a genius. The noirette was probably thinking of genius things that somehow had something to do with ice cream like, err... who invented the first ice cream, or why was it called the ice cream, or why no one seemed to like to eat it during cold weathers despite it tasting better - _trust me, it's true_ \- or if aliens knew what ice cream was, or-

"What's your sister's favorite flavor?"

Or... that. It could also be that.

Admittedly, Yang was a little disappointed at the very... bland question, but she did her best to add a little spice on her answer... to spice things up.

"Take a guess." The 'spice' she added was in the form of leaning forward towards her girlfriend to the point where their noses were barely touching and grinning widely and not-so-innocently.

Yang also added a wink, for good measure.

 _Hell yeah! This is the perfect way to get someone to kiss you! I read from a blog somewhere that this SPECIFIC position will DEFINITELY turn someone on, so I-_

"It's chocolate, isn't it."

Mouth opened in agape, Yang sat back down.

 _Why the hell didn't it work?!_

 _... The internet has betrayed me._

She considered sulking - yes, it was called sulking, not pouting, no matter what anyone said - but then scrapped it off and asked, "Why? You planning on taking her to an ice cream shop?"

It would be a nice idea for them both to spend some quality. time together, even. though Ruby was, in spite of many things, not a big fan of ice cream.

"I... have a feeling I'll need this information. Soon."

Well, that was vague as hell.

But, again, Yang merely shrugged it off as Blake being Blake.

"Heh, whatever you say, Blakey."

She would soon find out that she never should've shrugged it off. Ever.

Not when it came to her genius of a girlfriend.

* * *

By the time they were done with their... activity, it was safe to assume that she was as messy as the brunette in front of her, if not, more.

She definitely didn't feel kempt nor tidy... how could she after that... not-so-soft and perhaps-a-little-too-needy... kiss... or kisses.

Ruby had that little goofy smile she'd always liked, one that made her think as if there were no such thing as a problem in this big, happy world. One that made her believe she could simply drop all of her responsibility and fly away into the shattered moon.

It made her smile, though she was sure her own smile wasn't as big as Ruby's. No one's smile could ever beat Ruby's, at least not when it came to its importance in her life.

One particular strand of hair stood out from the rest, perhaps a little too literally. A cowlick, if you would.

Her eye twitched.

It irritated her.

She quickly moved her hand to better tidy that bedhead of a hair, then frowned when Ruby began giggling.

Before she could ask as to why, the young girl said, "You're such a Weiss."

Her eye twitched again. Her mouth curled into a smile that probably showed too much of how she felt.

"And you're such a dolt."

"But I'm _your_ dolt," the brunette quickly countered, then flinched. The light in her face dimmed. It pulled the strings off of Weiss' heart... and twisted it. "If... if you want me to be."

And that was what pulled Weiss into the reality of this unsimplistic situation.

Oddly enough, Weiss was... calm.

And not just calm in a sense of 'not panicking', but calm in a way that she'd never experienced before.

And she was sure it had something to do with their kiss because, honestly, she didn't know why else she'd feel like this.

Like everything would be okay.

Like nothing bad would ever happen.

Like she could take on the world.

... Oh, Ruby, you are such a hazard to my health.

"I... I'm sorry, Ruby-" Her mouth was touched by a calloused index finger.

She raised an eyebrow but made no move to speak, knowing that Ruby must have something good to say and also because she knew that if she tried to speak, the dolt would silence her in other ways.

"Don't be."

Weiss waited for one second. It slowly turned to five. Then ten.

Realizing that was all the girl had to say, Weiss scowled.

"I should be, Ruby." The dolt's mouth opened and, this time, it was she who silenced her with a single finger. "And I know that you knew, Ruby, but I still feel the need to apologize."

Ruby looked conflicted with this.

Weiss wanted to say something, but she also wanted to stare into those precious silver eyes of hers.

She did the latter first.

There used to be a time which she thought she was alone in this world.

That she didn't need anybody else.

That happiness was just something people made up.

... Oh, how foolish she'd been.

In the past years, she'd learned a lot about many things.

That she never _was_ alone, because even in her youth, she had Klein and Winter to help her separate which road was right for her, and as of now, she had her manager, friends, and fans who had proven time and time again that they would help her should she ever need it.

That she would always need somebody to guide her - whether she realized it or not, because sometimes... it was okay to want someone to be there with you.

And it was okay to make a mistake.

And it was okay to be flawed.

And it was okay to be _human._

That happiness was real. It was _so_ real. And it was so addicting. And it was better than any words could tell. And she never wanted to stop feeling it.

Oh, and that her father was, as her bandmates had all once stated in agreement, a... 'dick'. A rich dick, but a dick nonetheless.

"Fine... I can't stop you from apologizing." Weiss nodded dutifully at that. A Schnee always got what they wanted, after all. "But I can do this."

Suddenly, a pair of lips Weiss was now addicted to crashed into hers, and she was pulled into a trance of blissfulness.

And Weiss found it hard to think at all.

* * *

 **"This ain't your chapter, Bumblebee," I say as I cut off the rest of Yang and Blake's dialogues. "You've been taking the spotlights too much these past few chapters, now's the time for White Rose to shine... or should I say _bloom_?"**

 **But really though, you have no idea how glad I am that this chapter is finally out in the open. I've wanted White Rose to sail quickly as much as you do, but I know it'll be unwise for me to do that.**

 **For one, I didn't want them to quickly fall for each other the way Bumblebee did, because that'll be repetitive. Their relationship also provides us a breather back when Bumblebee was all ansty and sad.**

 **Yay. At long last.**

 **Support me on P*treon if you want ^^ and you'll get early previews of the next chapter. Heh.**

 **Hopefully I won't forget to update the story next week.**

 **Bye guys~ Wish you all an amazing week! :D**


	32. Consequences

**Before we get started, I'd like to say... HBD to the dumbest, most** **infuriating, shortest person I've ever met... who has become one of my closest friends, for some unknown reason. Yeah, if you're reading this, Dums, you're annoying and I hope you get shorter and uglier ;)**

 **... Moving on...**

 **"Whoa! Am I seeing this right?! You're uploading 8k(ish) chapter even though you've said numerous times that your limit is 3k-5k?!"**

 **Actually, the chapter, in total, has exactly 5.793 words.**

 **I have two announcements I'd like to make, and one is much bigger than the others (admittedly, that same one is the reason why this chapter is so long).**

 **The first announcement is that I'll be pulling off a hiatus after this. Sorry, but a girl needs her break to focus on school and other things. I've mentioned this in my last chapter, but I'll announce it again in case you didn't read the last AN.**

 **As for the second announcement…**

 **Heh…**

 **Hehehe…**

 **MWUHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH!**

 **You'll _love_ it.**

* * *

Blake's ear flicked when a liquid of what was once ice cream dropped from her little spoon, thankful she was able to move her leg - barely - or else it'd be unwantedly colored with vanilla white.

She looked up towards Yang and found she was struggling with the same ordeal.

"Want to just throw them away?" she proposed, gesturing towards her mess of a sugary treat.

Yang looked up with an impassive expression and immediately nodded. Blake refused the urge to chuckle; sometimes it was hard to believe that this girl was eighteen with the way she acted.

Blake offered to take both of their cones away despite Yang's protesting of "I'm all healed up now thanks to you!"

Minutes later, she found herself sitting in an ice cream shop, without the object the shop itself was selling, and with no topic to talk to.

Admittedly, Blake was a little bored.

And she'd do anything to _un_ bore herself.

Curiosity wasn't the only thing that could kill her, after all.

"Yang?" Her blonde girlfriend hummed dismissively, eyes trailing at the darkening sky. "Want to check on our captives?"

Yang snorted childishly. With a lopsided smile, she answered, "They're not our captives."

Blake raised an eyebrow at her easy response.

"We confined them inside a building."

The blonde shrugged. "Yeah. And?"

"Against their own will."

Blake had the pleasure of seeing Yang's face shift from the five stages of grief... only it wasn't grief, rather, it was guilt.

She went from denial to shock, shock, and shock, before finally settling in on realization.

"... Holy shi-" A poke to the chest.

"Language," Blake warned. Yes, Yang was cute and all, but that didn't excuse her from cursing aloud, especially when there might be children around.

The blonde merely rolled her eyes at her strictness but complied.

"Holy cones," Yang said, less enthusiastically. Blake was momentarily taken aback by the fact that the blonde had used an ice cream-related object as a curse word. Ice cream. Out of _all_ things. "We really _are_ holding them hostage."

"Yes," deadpanned Blake. "We are."

"... Huh." Blake gaped at Yang's not-so-caring response. Did she really not mind that they were practically kidnappers? "Eh, Ruby's my sister, she won't snitch on me."

"I don't know, Yang," Blake said, her voice shaking with a hint of dread as her eyes narrowed in reminiscent of a very recent memory. "She sounds _pretty_ angry over the phone."

"Nah~" Yang shrugged again, her facial features revealing nothing but nonchalance. "She's been angrier before."

"That is _not_ the point." Her voice was low due to her gritting her teeth.

Yang's eyes widened a little and she threw her hands up, her lilac eyes narrowing and brows furrowing.

"Hey, c'mon now, don't put this on me." Blake wanted to growl but suppressed it. "You went along with this plan." A small smile curved in Yang's lips. It was barely there, yet Blake saw. She knew Yang was testing her. "There's no way in hell I'm going to prison alone."

Blake internally cursed. She'd hoped Yang would dismiss the fact that indeed, the blonde wasn't the only one involved with kidnapping the two lovestruck girls.

Yang did mention she studied law, but Blake hadn't thought she'd actually _use_ it on a daily basis.

Perhaps Blake had underestimated her.

It was time to pull out another trick up her sleeve. One she wouldn't use often otherwise it would dull down its effectiveness.

"Oh? Do you really want to throw me in jail?" she asked, sugaring her voice with fake fragileness, vulnerability, and all other things she knew would throw Yang off-balance.

Yang's reaction was exactly what she hoped for.

Her eyes flew open so wide it stung Blake's own eyes, and as she stuttered incoherent, whispered sentences, she started to lean back to the point of no return.

Before the flustered blonde could fall, however, her savior came to the rescue - the rescuer being Blake Belladonna, of course.

Yang was merely a few inches off the ground. Her only support was Blake's hands, which she gripped very strongly without it hurting her... too much.

Yang looked back and forth between the ground that was closer to her than she expected and her smirking girlfriend.

At first, she was obviously confused as to what had happened - or, rather, what had almost happened, but after seconds of piecing the puzzles together those eyes of lilac widened again, only this time, it was in realization.

The noirette noticed Yang's grip tightening on her just a little when she yelled, "Blake! Stop doing this to me!"

"Doing what?" Blake blinked and flattened one ear, feigning ignorance. Then, with a smile that caused her smugness to increase tenfold, she asked, "Sweeping you off your feet?"

Yang released her grip off of Blake.

The quiet place was disturbed by a 'THUD!' that provoked a few birds into flying away from the trees.

Blake did the one thing any normal would do after realizing their pick-up lines had caused their partner to fall off a chair; gasped, then laughed.

A groan. Yang's groan. "... Not again."

Blake laughed louder at that.

* * *

"Ruby..." A sigh. Weiss' sigh.

The brunette in mention's first response was to frown. Then, she said, "Nope."

"I'm serious-"

"Nope." Ruby cut her off before she could say a word. She wouldn't listen. She didn't _want_ to listen.

The young girl knew it infuriated the girl in front of her, but honestly, she couldn't care less.

"Ruby." Her tone was a tad bit more stern, and a tad bit louder. "I was wrong for-"

"Nope." This time, she was the one to sigh. Seriously, how could someone so confident be _this_ self-berating? Ruby would have none of it. "I have feelings for you. And you to me. So why are you still feeling bad about yourself?"

The singer bit her lip. Such soft, tasty lips. Lips Ruby had tasted. Lips she had _kissed._

"Because kissing you without your permission is wrong!"

Lips that were now throwing words that, while not necessarily the complete truth, was also not a whole lie.

"Weiss, I-"

"And it doesn't matter if you knew I was kissing you or not, Ruby! I'm supposed to be your friend! Friends don't just use other friends like that!"

Well, that sentence caught her attention, certainly.

"What do you mean 'use'?" she inquired, one eyebrow flowing up.

The girl she had feelings for didn't seem to be too sure about herself... or anything, really. If Ruby didn't know any better she would label Weiss as having a hysteria.

Her breathing showed that she was not fully in control of herself, so did the sweating and fidgeting. At first glance, Weiss seemed furious, but Ruby knew her well, and she knew it was not anger the singer was expressing, though rather, it was dread and panic.

Two emotions she knew all too well.

"I was your friend. We- we were so close, I felt like nothing could tear us apart. But then I tore us apart, and it- I shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry, Ruby, truly, I am. I-if there's anything I can do for you to forgive me, then-"

Her sentence was cut off without warning.

Because Ruby kissed her. Again.

She did that to shut her up. _Again._

Because there was no other way for Weiss to stop overthinking.

Plus... Ruby loved kissing Weiss.

And she was rather sure Weiss liked being kissed by her too.

It was a win-win situation.

The kiss itself was long enough for her to get lost in the sensation, but not long enough for her to completely lose herself. She still had something to say, after all. And, while kissing was a great way to express herself, it couldn't explain everything.

Once they had broken apart and after Ruby tried to get some semblance of deep breaths again, she first needed to catch the heiress' full attention.

"Weiss."

The girl didn't immediately shot up after being called - unlike usual.

Her hazy blue eyes slowly drifted from Ruby's lips towards her eyes. It didn't take a genius to find out what Weiss had been thinking. Mostly because Ruby had been thinking the same thing.

Weiss' lips were slightly parted, but once the fog in her eyes cleared, her mouth clamped shut as Ruby saw her gulp in something akin to apprehension.

"Y-yes?"

She wasn't fully in the right mind. Ruby knew she herself wasn't too. But this was her opportunity for Weiss to listen. Because, if Weiss had been in the right mind, she still wouldn't dare to look at her in the eyes - too consumed by her own guilt; a guilt caused by nothing more than a mere assumption.

An assumption Ruby would do her darn best to debunk.

"Listen to me, Weiss. You are a human being. You are _bound_ to make mistakes. And you shouldn't beat yourself over it. Really, you shouldn't."

Her hand tucked a loose white strand as she smiled almost dreamily.

"Just because you made one mistake doesn't mean you're a bad person. Your mistakes don't define you, but your reactions to them do."

Wistfully, she began stroking a now tear-stricken cheek.

"And your reaction to kissing me proves that you're _far_ from a bad person, Weiss. In fact, you're a pretty amazing person. And..."

Her cheeks flushed with a sudden red as she thought of what she wanted to say next.

Ruby considered not saying, but she knew this was her only chance to do this, and she would do it.

She had to.

"And..."

A deep breath, before finally...

"I'd like to have you as my girlfriend."

There it was.

The question she didn't know she needed to ask for a rather long time until now.

The question that both loosened the weight in her shoulders that she'd been carrying and brought in a new sense of fear.

Deep in her heart, she knew what Weiss would say.

She knew what Weiss wanted.

It was what she wanted.

But... it didn't mean she couldn't experience the doubt.

It didn't mean she couldn't be horrified of what Weiss could say.

She was a person, after all. And what kind of a person would not be scared when facing this kind of situation?

* * *

"Seriously, Blake, stop screwing with me."

Yang did her best to glower at her girlfriend. AKA, the girl who had _used_ her romantic feelings against her, quite literally.

Blake wiped an invisible tear from her eye and sighed blissfully.

"This will never get old."

"It got old the first time you did this," she couldn't help but snap. Yang liked Blake and everything, but c'mon! This was _overkill!_

Thankfully, Blake had at least some shred of decency to try to control herself. She still had this teasing, irritating smile on her face that, for some reason, turned her on, but at least she wasn't sprouting embarrassing facts about Yang.

"Thank you," she said in a mock grateful tone once Blake fully stopped her tyranny of laughter.

"Sorry," Blake apologized, only looking half-sorry. Yang grumbled but chose not to reply.

Then her eyes widened in recalling something.

"Wait, what time is it?" she asked hastily, causing Blake to raise an eyebrow at the sudden change of mood.

"Err..." She picked up her phone and clicked on it, her face illuminated dimly by the screen. "Six thirty. Why?"

"When... did we 'help' Ruby and Weiss?"

"You mean lock them up?" Blake retorted, her raised eyebrow lowering in a deadpan.

"Yeah, yeah, that." Yang didn't actually care what they liked to call it. It wasn't important. Not now.

Blake stroked her chin in thought. One feline ear flicked when her eyes filled themselves with thought. "Around two hours ago." Yang paled; Blake frowned. "Why?"

"U-umm... not important." She gulped. "But we should probably get back to them- Like, right now." She made the move to stand, but Blake tugged her hands rather forcibly, causing her to sit back down, now feeling a little nervous, knowing how Blake was looking at her meant the noirette wasn't a happy kitty.

In fact, Blake looked downright furious.

And a furious Blake was _far_ from a good Blake.

A furious Blake meant an in-trouble Yang.

So, in short, Yang was in trouble.

Two troubles, in fact.

And one of those troubles were sitting right in front of her, glaring at her so coldly Yang feared she would die from its frostiness.

"Talk, Xiao Long."

Oh... _boy._

If that didn't set off many alarms in her head, nothing would.

Yang had two options. And she knew neither of them would be good. Not for her, at least.

She could either lie, got caught for it, and had Blake to try and find out about her actions herself, which could lead her to get yelled at

Or, she could tell the truth, which would cause Blake to freak out and yell at her simultaneously before the noirette dragged her back into the restaurant.

... Oh, and there was a third option too. Run away. Get as far away from her angry Blake as possible. But that wasn't really an option when it still hurt to move her foot without anyone's support. So, this clearly wasn't an option, no matter how much she wished it was.

So really, she had two options.

And both of them would cause an already-furious Blake to get more furious towards her.

 _... Welp, Dad DID say I'm a horrible liar._

"So... Blake..." A fake cough to try and lighten the heavy atmosphere - even if she knew it was a futile act. "Did you ever wonder why there was nobody at the restaurant?"

* * *

Weiss was speechless.

She was 100% certain that she had never been this speechless before.

And she was Weiss Schnee - she was always right, no matter what others might say.

It shocked her; what had caused her to be so speechless in the first place.

It wasn't a bad kind of speechless. Not like ones she often had in what she had once called a 'life' in that place she had once called her 'home'.

Far from it, in fact.

It was...

Well, 'good' couldn't even begin to describe it.

"Uh... Weiss? Are you okay?"

She vaguely heard Ruby's voice calling out to her, but she couldn't bring herself to part her jaws and make a sound.

How was it that, out of all people, Ruby Rose was the one who could make her feel this... alive.

A sixteen years old dolt who didn't know 'coy' and 'sly' were two very different words.

How could she, Weiss Schnee, fell in love with her?

It was baffling.

"Crap! Was my speech really that bad?!"

Weiss blinked herself back from reality after she jolted at the brunette's sudden increase in speech volume.

And then she realized something that wasn't very thrilling.

Ruby was no longer close with her.

And it wasn't very thrilling because she _really_ liked having Ruby press against her so close to the point where their bodies merged.

But, no, the young dolt wasn't close to her. In fact, she was a few feets away from her, pacing around as she pressed her phone against her ear, obviously calling someone.

"What are you doing?" she inquired, annoyed. She missed Ruby's gentle touch. Why wasn't the girl holding her anymore?

Ruby's distressed silver eyes locked with her own before her distress turned to relief. "Weiss!" The brunette pulled her phone away from her ear and gave her a hasty, apologetic smile. "Hold on a second." Then, she went back into calling... whoever she was calling. "Yeah, don't worry, Miss Nurse, she's fine now! Thanks for your help, bye!" Ruby then pressed what Weiss assumed was the end-call button.

She then ran up to Weiss, put her phone back to her pocket, and held her shoulders... They both looked into each other's eyes.

Weiss knew what could only happen.

What she wanted to happen.

What she knew Ruby must want to happen as well.

She leaned in... Ruby did the same, and then...

Then, she started shaking Weiss.

"Oh my gosh, I thought I broke you! Weiss, I'm so sorry! Are you okay!"

A surge of emotions crashed into her; mostly disappointment at not having her lips clashed against Ruby's... and irritation, at being wobbled back and forth like a freaking ragdoll.

"R-Ruby!" she managed to sputter out in-between the... wave of shaking. With as much force as her wobbly hand could manage, she pushed Ruby's hands to the side. "Stop it!"

"Not until you stop freaking me out like that!"

As annoyed as she was, Weiss couldn't help but ask, "Like what?"

"Like..." Ruby gestured with her hands. Very vaguely. "Like that!" Her facial features and tone suggested that the brunette was just as confused about this ridiculous turn of events as she was. "Spacing out! Like you were about to have- Err... " She suddenly pressed her feet against the ground, fueling herself with a new sense of anger as she pouted. "I don't know! A seizure or something!"

Her confusion and anger suddenly died down, replaced by mirth. She felt herself smirking as she asked, " _Why_ would I have a seizure?"

When Ruby looked at her again, she blushed in embarrassment. How cute. "I- I don't know..." Silver eyes looked pensively up at her as she rubbed her messy brown hair. She placed her other hand at her pocket, then shuffled her feet. Those were small, simple acts that were, illegally, able to flutter her heart. "You just... do."

... Curse Ruby and her cuteness.

"W-well," she said before dusting her shirt off from its wrinkles, trying to look somewhat more... refined. "I can assure you, Ruby, that I will not have a seizure. Ever." Ruby didn't look convinced; she rolled her eyes. "I swear to the ancient Grimms and-"

"And all the delicious cookies and strawberries?" Ruby asked, suddenly looking more like a child than any child Weiss had ever met.

Weiss stared for a moment - momentarily asking herself and Remnant itself as to how she could fall in love with this _dolt_ \- before relenting. "Yes. I swear on all of the cookies and strawberries."

If Glynda were here, she would disown Weiss. And she wasn't even her real mother.

"Um... Weiss?"

One blue eye twitched. She was starting to get tired of all of this... bursts of randomness that came from being with Ruby.

"Yes?"

"What's your answer?"

Her eye twitched again. As did her nose.

"What the-" She took a deep breath. She'd almost said the forbidden word; 'hell'... Her friends were rubbing off of her in ways that she wouldn't precisely call good. "What are you talking about?"

There was disappointment laced within those silver eyes, but mostly they were filled with shock.

"I... I was asking you... You know, to... to be my girlfriend."

Dust. What a fool she'd been.

An utter, forgetful, cruel fool.

"Oh, Ruby." She pulled the fragile brunette into a small kiss to reassure her that her feelings towards her were true and they would not go away anytime soon - if not, ever. "Of course I'll be yours," she said, her voice shaking with a thousand emotions - all of which were good - once she'd reluctantly broke off from the kiss.

"Really?"

It melted her heart; how hopeful Ruby had sounded. And it filled her with pride; the reality that she was the one to put such faith in the girl.

"Really." Suddenly, the possibilities of the future fogged her mind. Or, more accurately, the weight of it. "But..." Her mind scrambled, trying to find the most major consequence that would set back their seemingly simple relationship. "What about the media? What'll they think?"

The media had become a sort of enemy for her ever since her band had really started to gain its rightful fame.

It was a handful trying to get them to stop assuming their private lives.

She really didn't want to have those nosy reporters trying to get their hands into Ruby. She couldn't- wouldn't allow that to happen.

"Yeah..." Ruby looked down, shuffled her feet, before looking back up at her again. "But... I think everyone kinda already assumes we're together already, so it won't be that big of a deal once we confirmed it... if we want to confirm it, that is."

"... Of course, they know."

Weiss felt like a fool... again.

It was the media; their job was to make juicy gossips and make sure people start to believe in it.

The video of them, alone together, making music together and working so well with one another in the spacious room had probably raised lots of questions... questions which 'theorists' had answered... by saying that she had a new girlfriend.

"Also," Ruby abruptly said, "people _kinda_ think that I'm a new member of your band, so..." She gave out a fake cough. "Um... sorry? I guess? I don't know why I'm apologizing but I feel like I should. Also, people won't stop following me, so, maybe you can... clear things out for them."

Weiss smiled.

The girl was so... clumsy and dorky...

Ruby was so... well, Ruby.

She bumped her forehead against Ruby's, causing the younger girl to badly hid a squeak of surprise. She let her eyes flutter closed and her mouth to curl into a smile.

"Dolt," she whispered. "I won't force anything on you. It's your choice to make - whether we go public or not - and I'll be okay with both choice." She released a long sigh as her eyebrows furrowed into a frown. "As for the rumors, I'll... see to Goodwitch about it."

Ruby snickered; Weiss smiled.

"You just don't want to handle it yourself, do you, Weissy?"

Having the girl call her with that special nickname Ruby had made for her and her only caused something to stir inside her.

And that something was what compelled her into pulling the young girl into a kiss. One that was sweet and passionate at once.

When they broke apart, she gave the dolt a mock glare.

"I don't know what you are talking about, Rozē."

Ruby giggled again. It did wonders to her chest.

"Weiss, you-"

A series of knocking. It caused her heart rate to spike up tremendously. She knew it did the same to Ruby.

They both turned their heads towards the source of the sound - which was the window blocked by the curtain - instinctively backing away from each other yet still holding each other's hand.

Weiss could make out a silhouette of a person. Sort of.

"Hello?" a muffled, _shrieking_ voice that belonged to a girl she didn't know called out. "Yang? I know you sort of think of me as a loser and all but it's been an hour, can we all please get back to work?"

"... Jaune?"

Weiss whipped her head back to her partner as one eyebrow rose.

"Who's Jaune?" And why did he sound like a woman?

"He's my friend," Ruby replied absentmindedly, frowning at the newcomer. "He... works here."

The brunette walked towards the window, pressing herself against it so this Jaune boy could hear her better while instructing, "Jaune! Do you have the keys!?"

Diamond blue eyes widened - realizing what was about to happen.

"Ruby? Is that you?"

"Just answer the question, Jaune!" the girl replied, a little exasperated. Weiss couldn't blame her. They'd been trapped in this building for what felt like days.

After a few more minutes of pointless arguing and irritating questions, they were finally out in the open together... oh, and that scraggly, noodle-armed Arc boy was with them too, still looking at the two of them as if they weren't really here.

He looked back and forth between them, obviously confused. Not that Weiss cared.

Weiss was… furious.

At no one other than Yang.

She was furious because it was she who had put them in this situation in the first place.

What would the public think when they saw Weiss Schnee looking this dishevelled right next to a girl who also looked very dishevelled.

It wouldn't be long to put the two and two together.

She…

She was going to kill Yang.

She didn't care that she was now officially Ruby's girlfriend.

Yang had put her in this situation.

"... Are you sure I shouldn't call the cops?" the dumb blond asked.

It was Ruby who sighed in annoyance, and the corner of Weiss' mouth twitched into a small smile. Even when her dolt was frustrated, she was still cute.

If it were up to Weiss, Yang would definitely be in prison right now. The harshest prison there was. With no WiFi.

* * *

Blake was in a rush.

And she was dragging Yang along with her.

How could she not have seen this coming?

Yang was many things, but the inventor of good ideas was not one of them, or else there wouldn't be 'news' that her sister had joined her girlfriend's band.

She shouldn't have expected this would be that easy.

She shouldn't have expected anything would be easy at all.

This was life, after all. Nothing about it was easy.

"Blake! Please! I am injured here!" Yang said, much too dramatically, in her opinion. The noirette thought _she_ of all people shouldn't complain about anything, especially not after what she'd done.

Currently, she was half-sprinting, holding Yang's wrist as she dragged her insolent girlfriend with her. Her other hand was carrying a white plastic bag she knew would be needed as soon as she arrived at their destination.

"We could get in jail, Yang!" she shouted through gritted teeth, putting more pressure in her grip on the blonde's wrist to show just how _furious_ she was. "I wasn't serious when I said we kidnapped these two! But now we might actually be considered criminals if someone got to them before we did!"

"Well, now you're just being dramatic!" Oh, how _dare_ she!

"Shut it!" snapped Blake.

They were getting close. She could feel it. They just needed to make one more turn - it was one block away before they could spot the restaurant.

"I mean, c'mon! I thought it was pretty obvious why the restaurant is empty in the first place!"

"No!" Blake denied truthfully and angrily. "It's really not obvious!" Not at all.

They made the turn.

Blake's pace slowed down when she saw no sirens.

Instead, what she saw was Adel's restaurant. Even from a distance, she could see the insides of it, filled with waiters and waitresses, doing their things.

And right outside the entrance...

Her eyes widened.

Ruby, Weiss, and - if she wasn't wrong - Jaune were all there, talking to one another.

She momentarily stopped only to face Yang and point an accusing finger towards her. "Remember, this is your fault," she warned, adding a glare for good measure.

Yang waved her lazy hands in response. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'll take the blame for this one."

They began to walk towards the trio, pensively. Cautiously.

When Weiss' blue eyes flickered towards them, Blake flinched.

"You!" When the heiress pointed, Blake's jaw dropped. Because Weiss wasn't pointing towards her. No, she was pointing towards Yang.

Which meant...

Weiss blamed Yang for this.

The petite girl marched towards Yang with clenched fists and a killing glare.

Yang made an "Eep!" sound which Blake found adorable.

"I'll leave you two alone," she swiftly said before striding towards Ruby and Jaune. The latter looked confused while the former looked irritated.

She ignored Weiss' demonic shouts of "I WILL _MURDER_ YOU!" and Yang's adorable shriek in response. That was not her problem. Not right now.

The boy was the first to notice her arrival. "O-oh, hi, Blake!" he said in a casual tone she knew right away was fake. Her nod towards him was her only response.

Her head turned towards the shorter girl, who looked torn between wanting to be mad at her and wanting to let the matter drop.

Before Ruby could decide, however, Blake outstretched the arm that had been carrying the plastic bag.

A brown eyebrow rose.

"For me?" Ruby asked. Again, Blake nodded, though with a sheepish smile.

"I... hope you can forgive me for... well, this." She vaguely gestured at the restaurant, hoping the brunette caught what she meant.

"Depends." There was a coy smirk gracing the seemingly-naive girl's lips. Blake found herself comparing the smile to Yang's own mischievous one. "What's in the bag?"

Blake smiled.

"A chocolate chip ice cream. _With_ added cookies as a bonus."

Ruby gasped.

Blake's smile changed into a smirk. She knew she was no longer in trouble.

Ruby, being the adorable girl that she was, quickly snatched the bag from her hand and looked inside it, gasping again when she saw what was inside - which was, of course, exactly what she had said because Blake was no liar.

Blake found it amusing how her silver eyes sparkled brightly with delight, and how, when looking back up at her, Ruby tried her best to not look overly-excited for it and said, "Excellent bribe, Blake."

"Why thank you," she responded curtly.

"Wait, wait, wait." Jaune stood on his ground, placing each hand on each of the girl's shoulder as he frowned in deep thought. "So... what the heck just happened?"

Blake's first response was to raise an eyebrow, because, _really? You're eighteen. Did you really just say heck?_

Her second response was cut off by Ruby's sigh.

"I've told you four times now, Jaune," the brunette said, fatigue clearly shown in her voice.

"Yeah, I know." He frowned, looking back and forth between the two girls. "I just _can't_ believe it."

"Well then, allow me to explain it to you."

Blake dusted off his large, weak hand away from her shoulder before turning to look at him.

"Yang told you guys to close the restaurant for an hour, right?" Her voice was dry. It wasn't because of overuse. After he nodded, she continued. "She and, unknowingly I, used that time to lock Ruby and Weiss up so they could fix their relationship."

The noirette made a mental note to ask any of the girls about it at a later time.

"But she miscalculated; thought she could get back here in time before you could. Also, she didn't tell me about it. Didn't even give me a hint." Blake frowned at that. "And we were worried whoever found Ruby and Weiss locked inside would call the cops for attempted kidnapping."

That last part was, perhaps, a little dramatic.

Neither Ruby nor Weiss would ever call the cops on _her_. Though, Yang was a completely different story.

Plus, in the end, this could all be written up as nothing more than a silly prank that had gone wrong.

"Oh... I... I get it." Clearly, he didn't.

Blake opened her mouth, but it was Ruby who made the move to try to explain things to him again.

"Basically, Yang screwed up. Big time."

The three of them flinched simultaneously at Weiss' yells of "I will mark a scar on you!"

Turning her head, Blake found the rare sight of a terrified, exhausted, limping Yang trying to run away from an equally exhausted Weiss, who had somehow obtained a crowbar. It was big... and it looked sharp.

What she intended to do with that crowbar was no mystery.

"I am an _injured_ woman!" Yang tried to defend... very poorly.

"GOOD!" was the yelled response. "It'll be easier to stab you!"

"Umm..." Jaune said, suddenly realizing his place in this situation. Or, more precisely, his lack of it. "I'm just gonna..." He walked towards Yang before calling out, "Hey! You can give us the money whenever!" Then, he went inside the restaurant with a mumbled "Bye."

Blake frowned. Yang had basically bribed each and every worker of the restaurant to temporarily close the restaurant. While it wasn't exactly a completely foolish idea, it did cause Blake to want to ask one question.

"Wait, how much money did you owe them?" Ah. Yes. That question. Which Ruby had asked before she could.

Yang paled even more, suddenly stopping her miserable excuse of a run.

"... Long enough for you to not be able to eat cookies for two months?"

Blake's ears flattened.

That... was a foolish move. A very foolish move.

Yang had already unleashed the wrath of Weiss Schnee - which was a terrifying feat itself.

And now...

She was about to release another, possibly even greater fury.

The fury of Ruby Rose realizing she couldn't eat cookies for what she would obviously see as a very long time.

"YANG! I WILL _KILL_ YOU!"

And now, not only was Weiss chasing after Yang. But Ruby was as well.

"I fixed your relationship!"

"You trapped me!" shrieked the singer.

"You took away my cookies!" yelled the guitarist.

"Ruby you're sixteen you should be able to _afford_ your own cookies!" the older sibling argued.

"And _you're_ eighteen so you're supposed to be able to afford _me_ my own cookies!" the younger sibling countered.

"Blake, the love of my life, help me!" There was a short pause before Yang gasped in betrayal. "Wait, are you recording?! BLAKE?!"

 _Hey, it's not every day that you get to see your girlfriend being chased by two girls who she really shouldn't be afraid of considering their size._

 _I'd be a fool not to record._

"IF YOU DIDN'T WANT TO BE IN THE BUILDING WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST BREAK ONE OF THE WINDOWS?!"

"... I HATE YOU, YOU BRUTE!"

* * *

 **And so, that's how this weird White Rose arc ends... in your typical anime-ish fashion.**

 **See you all in a few weeks...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **WAIT! DON'T LEAVE YET! I HAVE SOMETHING YOU MUST BE INTERESTED IN! IT'S A BUMBLEBEE STORY! A NEW BUMBLEBEE STORY!**

 **… Okay, you still there? Good.**

 **This is about the bigger, better announcement I talked about earlier. The one I know you'll love.**

 **Today, I'm going to tell you something… special. It's a story me and my good friend have been working on. I _highly_ recommend you checking it out. **

**"Why would I do that, though? And what even is the story about?" you may ask.**

 **Hahaha. Well, it's simple, really. What if… instead of what we got in Canon… _This_ happens…**

* * *

"How can you say something like that?" Weiss protested. "Yang would never lie to us!"

Blake glanced at Weiss, seemingly passing a tiny amount of judgement on the petite Heiress before beginning her explanation. "I had someone very dear to me change." Ironically - or not, depending on your stance on the matter - Yang felt the same way about Blake at this very moment. "It wasn't in an instant, it was gradual - little choices that began to pile up."

 _'What, like you not believing me?_ _'_ came Yang's internal thoughts, down heartened by the accusation sent her way.

"He told me not to worry."

 _'Yeah, and so did you, Blake,'_ the blonde thought to herself again, fists gripping her bed cover now.

"At first they were accidents, then it was self-defence."

 _'And so was this!'_ Yang practically shouted at her in her head.

"Before long, even I began to think he was right." Tears fell down the blonde's face freely now, not stopped by any emotional barriers. "This is all just... very familiar. Bu-"

"Get out."

* * *

 **You might think, "Oh, is this some kind of AU where Yang and Blake's relationship turns sour? Or where Yang is 'Yangrier' than she actually is in Canon?"**

 **Well… A part of it _is_ that, yes. But there's more to this story than _just_ that. _Much more._**

 **Have you ever wondered how… _dumb_ … the Fall of Beacon actually is? In terms of its realism…?**

 **Probably not, right? Well, me neither. But _my dear friend_ here notices the things that are just off about it. **

**It's easier if I just show you:**

* * *

"I don't get it," came the irritated voice of Roman Torchwick who, after being released from his cell on the Atlas ship, made his way down to ground level to escape the many security robots that were chasing him and Neo on the ship, only to be apprehended by more security robots on the ground, "you're just a bunch of _kids!_ How could _you_ beat _us?"_

"Uh… you attacked us," Ruby pointed out.

"Yes, that was the poi-"

"On our turf," she added.

"Yes. That. Was. The-"

"Which is a school for _Huntsmen_."

"Okay, yeah, that bits a li-"

"Consisting not only of Team RWBY, but four years worth of students." Roman sighed at the logical onslaught from Ruby, either blissfully unaware or deliberately antagonising the master Conman with her reasoning. "Currently hosting the Vytal Tournament, where there are other Huntsmen schools here."

"Okay Red, I get it."

"Each with at least two years worth of students in attendance."

"Red, that's enough. Your point it ma-"

"And the teachers too, who are all ex-Huntsmen or Huntresses and are _far_ more skilled than us kids."

"Get me outta here please," the criminal begged of the Atlas soldiers holding him there, small smirks on their faces that clearly told him 'no'.

"And," Ruby mentioned, breaking only slightly beforehand because she initially forgot about them, but was reminded when she glanced off to one side and spotted a metallic corpse being transported away, "the Atlas Military and their cool robot soldiers."

"All of whom," Weiss added from her own knowledge of the project prior to attending Beacon, "have their own systems made to counteract any malware entered into them, meaning any sort of hostile takeover of their OS results in either it being purged within a few minutes or outright destroying the machine and the malware with it."

"Really," Ruby admitted, "you couldn't have picked a worse time to attack this place. No offense." She gave a nonchalant shrug. The continued insult to the plan he agreed to be part of made the conman scream in agony.

* * *

 **Honestly, even I haven't thought of all of those (probs because I'm just dumb), but my friend, being the genius that he is, wants to take a more realistic approach on his AU.**

 **"Alright," you might be saying. "You've got my interest. But what's this story actually _about?"_**

 **Heh. I'll tell you, alright.**

 **So, let's start with this:**

 **Yang is framed for attacking an innocent student (Mercury). That _still_ happened in this story. What is different about it is… what happens _next_ …**

 **Or rather, what happens to _Yang_ next...**

* * *

"AH!"

Her head snapped towards the scream. A woman, unarmed, scared, holding a boy - her child, maybe. In front of her, a Beowolf.

Yang reacted like what any normal huntress would do.

In a blur of motions - mostly growls and punches - the Beowolf had turned into a smoke, before it was no more.

Yang looked behind her. The woman and child was there - the former held the boy with tears already falling from her eyes while the latter looked horrified. They were frozen in place and shaking tremendously - obviously because of all the Grimm - both the creatures and those who wore masks. Once she realized they were unharmed, she heaved a sigh. Thank Dust. They were okay. She wasn't too late.

She took a step forward, "Ma'am, you-"

The woman released a cry of fear, gripping the boy's shoulders tighter, taking a large step back.

"P-please!" croaked the terrified woman. "Don't hurt us!"

"Wha-?" _'Why are they avoiding **me**?'_

Yang wanted to move towards her, to tell the woman that hurting her was the last thing she'd ever wanted to do, but the look on the woman's eyes stopped her in her tracks…

And the look on the boy's face… It was a look Yang had seen before - one from back when she was a child. Vague images popped in her head - her walking in the depths of the wood, dragging a wagon where Little Ruby slept in… her looking at those lifeless red eyes in the picture… her hearing a shrill scream of terror… her turning around and seeing that face…

It was the same face the boy was giving her now.

It was the face of a child who was looking at a monster they were terrified of.

It was the same face. It was the _exact same face._

* * *

 **I think, at this point, you're starting to get the idea of this concept. After thousands of people saw Yang attacking an innocent student, they all _must_ think she's either bloodthirsty or insane. I mean, C'mon! Why isn't this mentioned at all in Volume 4 and 5?! Are me and my friend the only two who realize just how much _potential_ the show-writers has _wasted!_**

 **When people see Yang, they'll be scared out of their wits. Civilians think Yang is a monster, or someone to be feared. Huntsmen… They see her as unstable. I mean, how can they not, right? After what she did.**

 **So...**

 **How will it affect Yang? How will it affect the entire team? How will it affect her and Blake's relationship?**

 **Well, everyone… _This_ is what the story is about.**

 **Look, guys, my friend and I worked hard on it.**

 **Could you give this story a chance? I mean, it won't be as aimless as F &GF here, which is more of a slice-of-life kind of story. This story has plot. It has character arcs. It has a _story._**

 ** _And it is AMAZING._**

 **"So, what is this story?" you might ask.**

 **Well…**

 **The title is " Three Masters", and, though it is written by _both_ me and my friend, it has been/will be uploaded on his account: FeugoFox42.**

 **"When will it be posted?"**

 **Oh, my silly friend, it already _has_ been posted.**

 **"Where?"**

 **Right here. In this site.**

 **Check it out. I mean, what's the harm in doing so? It'll only take about a few minutes to read the prologue. It has, like, 3k words. Plus, if you like my writing _here_ you'll like it even _more so_ on that story, seeing as how I'm presented with a less "slice-of-life" story. My writing really did get a chance to shine in that story. I get to write fighting scenes, cool dialogues between Yang and Mercury (small spoilers), and lots more!**

 **So… go check it out! … Please.**

 **Here are a message from FeugoFox42, the one who had the idea to make this story in the first place:**

* * *

 _ **~tap~ ~tap~ ~tap~** Is this thing on? It's on? Okay…_

 _Hey everyone!_

 _Yeah, as Clementine said, the story idea was originally mine. I wrote something out, gave it to her to check through, review and suggest edits; a typical 'writer / beta' relationship. When I saw how much I'd done… "wrong" - so to say - what she suggested improved everything tenfold, and I couldn't believe what she'd done to the story. It's leaps and bounds above it's first draft, and that's just the prologue. Wait until the chapters really start._

 _Clearly, 'writer / beta' wouldn't cut it, so it's become a proper partnership story. We both work equal parts on it. Just assume everything you think is good is her writing, and that everything else is the A/N's._

 _I'll say no more on that matter - we may be partners now, and it may be my story, but she'd thoroughly kick my ass through the internet if I said any more._

 _To those who will give it a look, thank you in advance. To those who don't, :(_

 _Honestly, regardless of if you do or don't it means a lot that you even read this far on this story. What we're doing over on **"** **Three Masters"** is rather bananas in its concept, but that just makes it all the more fun!_

 _See you there!_

 _._

 _._

 _Am I done now? Can I go? I can? Okay._

* * *

 **That's Foxy for you, people! Trust me, his writing is _much less boring_ than his personality, so you won't have to worry about that~**

 **"But why is the title 'Three Masters'?" That is for us to know and for you to find out. And when you do find out, you'll be anything _but_ disappointed ;)**

 **If you want to support me, be sure to check out my P*treon under the same name: Clementine Davidson.**

 **Another reason why you should read it is because I'll be going on a hiatus for a while and, if you want to see more of my writing, you can do so through Three Masters. You know, in case you miss my obviously awesome and amazing and great writing ;)**

 **One last reason is because... our story is great. No joke. This isn't just one inexperienced person writing a story for their own enjoyment. This is two people who've written stories before. Two people who knows what makes a story good. We want to make a great story. And we intend to get what we want. This isn't a half-assed project we make for fun, even if we did have a lot of fun writing it. Give it a shot, will ya? :)**

 **Oh!**

 **And one last teaser:**

* * *

Thousands of emotions washed over her; none were something resembling happiness.

And all she could think of as she approached General Ironwood was:

 _'Monsters deserved to be locked up, right?'_


	33. A Phone-Call

**Hey guys, I'm back. And, wow, I've been gone for nearly a month now, sorry about that, but life is surprisingly... surprising. And by that I mean high school. And all of the hellish things that comes with it.** **It takes away a lot of my free time, dammit. Including the time that could be spent on writing. But don't worry, I have, like, 5 chapters written in advance. Hooray for both you readers and me.**

 **To start things off, why don't we have the one thing I know you all love:**

 **Fluff! ^^**

* * *

Blake's eyes went back and forth between her phone - which showed her and Ruby's recent text showing a detailed address - and the building in front of her.

The building that was supposed to be her girlfriend's apartment.

She began to have doubts coming here.

 _What if this isn't the right place?_ she asked herself, even when she knew that she was correct, seeing how she'd been here before.

 _Of course it is,_ replied the more blunt part of herself as her features creased in a frown. _I've triple-checked. This is it._

The more logistic part of her reprimanded herself for being this unnecessarily nervous for something as trivial as going inside her partner's apartment. _This isn't even your first time going inside this building. Why are you so scared?_

But then she remembered that when she stepped inside the building for the first time, she didn't exactly intend to stay in the building for longer than a few minutes. She was there to pick up Ruby.

Speaking of Ruby...

Blake had received a call from a certain red-haired girl earlier that day...

Or, more precisely, from an unknown number.

It _had_ been what lead her into this current scenario she was in.

* * *

Blake groaned when her phone rang. She was in the middle of a very good book and she didn't like to be disturbed while reading.

Perhaps if she ignored it whoever's calling her would stop _trying_ to call her.

Her phone, still on the small desk inches away from the bed she laid in, vibrated as it played a tune she'd grown tiresome.

She didn't try to reach her phone. She merely continued reading, pretending as if her room was filled with peace and quiet.

Her phone still rang.

Her nose twitched, and so did her cat ear. But other than that, she continued trying to distract herself from the reality of this cold world by jumping into a fictional one, which was the most accurate definition of reading, now that she thought of it...

It was _still_ ringing. And it was starting to get on her nerves - or, as Sun had once joked, it was tingling her furs.

Whoever was trying to call her must be a stubborn person. _Very_ stubborn.

But Blake herself was also known for her stubbornness. And she did _not_ like being interrupted, especially not when it came to her and her precious literature.

It stopped ringing.

Blake sighed in relief.

It started ringing again.

"For Dust sake, Blake! Would you _please_ just answer the call?!"

Blake closed her book with a snap after taking no more than a short second to remember what page she was on. She glared at her roommate, who glared right back.

"You know how much I love reading, Weiss," the noirette warned.

"And _you_ know how much _I_ love my peace and quiet."

Blake barely suppressed the urge to growl as she glared harder. Those ice blue eyes stared right back at her, maintaining their frosty, knowing gaze.

... She, eventually, relented, but not before drawing in a big scoff. She grabbed her phone and looked at it. "It's an unknown number," she stated.

Weiss' eyebrows flattened and her mouth was set on a thin line.

"Forget what I said. Don't answer it."

If it weren't for their current situation, Blake would've found it hilarious how quickly Weiss went from wanting her to answer the phone to wanting her to flat out ignore it.

Blake understood why with the sudden change. With their line of work, unknown numbers usually meant one thing; 'fans' who somehow got a hold of their phone number through numerous briberies.

And by 'fans', she meant people who would beg them into playing a private concert for them, or make a special song for them, or be their girlfriend. And, yes, the last one had actually happened more times than she was comfortable with, especially now that she already _had_ a girlfriend, even if they hadn't gotten public about it… yet.

Blake, with little regret, pressed the red button and opened her book back.

She wasn't being rude. It was protocol drilled upon each of them by Glynda Goodwitch; always ignore a call from an unknown number.

When they'd first started, they barely got these kinds of calls, and when they did, their fans were never offensive or demanding of them. Sometimes, the reason they'd called was to simply tell them how great they were.

But... as time went on, lots of things changed, including their so-called fans.

There were arguments, there were debates. She'd been furious, she'd been saddened. But in the end, she had been overall disappointed.

She still was disappointed.

Her phone went off.

Blake was a flash of motions; she shot up from her bed, grabbed her phone, denied the call, put it back on the desk, and lay in the bed.

She heard Weiss breathe a sigh. Maybe it was out of relief. Or maybe it was out of tiredness of having to deal with this on an almost daily basis.

Blake was tired. It had been a long day. She just wanted to read her book, was that such a bad thing?

Her phone rang. For what felt like the hundredth time.

Blake inhaled deeply and exhaled even deeper. Slowly and painfully, she twisted her head to the side, looking at the cursed object with as much disdain as the world could allow her.

"I want to answer it," she boldly - perhaps even stupidly - declared. She didn't care if it was a dumb thing to do, she wanted to read, and whoever had been calling her was preventing her from doing it.

"Don't." Weiss had sprouted a word of wisdom. But wisdom wasn't what Blake needed right now, reading a book was.

She grabbed her phone and pull it close towards her, glaring at the screen as if she could somehow will the caller away.

"Blake." A warning tone. Blake listened but didn't pay attention to the girl.

She pressed the green button - knowing the possible danger she just put herself in by doing so - put her device close to her ears, and...

She began her furious ranting.

"What?! What do you _want_ from me? Is it a picture? An autograph? A _personal concert_?! Well, too bad, you can't have it! Certainly not for _free_! And don't even start with the 'you need to be good to your fans' crap because guess what? You, our fans, need to be good to _us_ too. That's right. You need to be good to people. It's a shock, right? Now listen to me and listen good. Right now, I want to read my book and I _intend_ to finish it as _quickly_ as I can. So choose your words carefully. Very fucking carefully. _Got it_?"

At the end of her _perfectly reasonable_ vent, Blake had her hand clenched into her fist, and her teeth felt like they grew fangs.

The person - whoever he or she may be - didn't say a word. _Good. I don't want to hear their STUPID voice anyway._

Blake took the chance to look at her friend... and regretted it.

Weiss was filling her glass with water. That did seem normal if not for the fact that the glass was already full and the heiress was still spilling water from the dispenser. She wasn't even aware of the water _overflowing_ on the table. She just sat there, looking at Blake as if she belonged in a mental asylum.

Blake gave her a scowl that meant, "What?"

Weiss' gaze intensified. Blake read it as, "What do you mean 'what'?!"

Blake was about to answer that with another form of a scowl when she heard someone from the other line. It didn't sound much like words, and she was beginning to think that she might've been stepping over the line... until she heard the person's voice.

 _"... H-hi, Blake, I, umm... nice to, err... hear you again."_

Okay, she didn't just step over the line. She crushed that line and stepped over it. Again. And again.

Blake would've called herself the 'b' word, but unfortunately, she was a cat faunus, not a dog faunus.

"Hey... Ruby..." Her voice was meek. Weak. Filled with endless suffering and regret.

Weiss stood up from the desk without much care for the objects surrounding her. "That's Ruby?!" shrieked the now-panicked heiress.

Blake gave her a look that said, "I am extremely sorry."

Weiss, in return, gave her the infamous ice queen glare. The message was obvious. Even a stranger could deduct what it meant.

 _"S-so, I was just gonna ask you a favor to take care of Yang when she's injured, b-but I can see that you're busy with your book, so, umm, goodbye-"_

"Wait, wait, wait." She took a deep breath and calm her mind. She could not mess this up. She'd already hurt the poor girl enough. "I'm really sorry about that, Ruby, I didn't realize-"

 _"No, no, it's my fault for calling you out of the blue,"_ the brunette generously offered. _"I mean, yeah, I'm probably bothering you so-"_

"Ruby, don't. You didn't do anything wrong. That was all on me." Blake stole a glance to the heiress, who still looked at her with a murderous glare. That compelled her to say more words of apology. "Sorry, it's just- it's been a long day, alright? I'm not mad at you or anything. Tell me what you need?"

 _"You're not mad at me? Really?"_ Oh, boy. Blake had been the one to yell at her - to practically _use_ her as a punching bag, and yet _she_ was the one who was apologizing. Grimm almighty, Ruby just made her feel like she was the worst person on this Remnant without _intending_ to.

"Of course I'm not mad at you. How could I?" If anything, Ruby was the one who should be mad at her. Both her and Weiss. Though the latter already was more than mad. Understandably. "Now, tell me what you need."

"Put it on speaker," Weiss demanded - or rather, growled. Blake obliged out of fear and nothing else.

 _"You know how people think I'm like, part of the band and all, right?"_ Blake hummed her agreement while Weiss nodded. _"So I talked with Miss Goodwitch and she arranged to have me interviewed live on TV to clear things up."_

"Wait, why don't you just upload a video of you admitting it out loud?" Weiss pointed out, to which Blake nodded in compliance. "That _would_ save a lot more time and effort."

 _"Wait, Weiss? Is that you?"_

"Of course it's me, you dunce." Despite the words themselves being harsh, they were spoken in a tone of anything but. Blake rolled her eyes at the girl's facade of uncaringness, and even Ruby giggled, knowing it was simply Weiss being Weiss. "Why would Glynda go all this far? It doesn't make any sense."

 _"Well, actually..."_ Blake could hear Ruby's cringe from the other end of the line. _"We did try uploading a video of me admitting it. Even got Sun on it. But, while some people think it's true, others..."_

"Don't believe you," Weiss finished in a deadpan, massaging her temples afterward as she sighed in frustration.

 _"They all seem to think that this is some sort of joke or something,"_ Ruby said, the impatientness in her voice palpable. _"I don't know why, and it's really starting to bug me. It's like, people come to me every day and ask to take a picture with me, which is cool and all, but then they WOULDN'T stop following me and started whispering things about me like I wouldn't NOTICE. It's just hard, you know?"_

As she ranted, Blake and Weiss looked at each other knowingly - two smug smiles planted on each of their respective faces. Was Ruby really vent about her fame to _them_ , of all people?

"Oh, Ruby," Weiss said, sugarcoating her voice. There was enjoyment in her smile, but there was annoyment in her eyes. "It must be _so_ hard for you, isn't it? To have people _following_ you all the time. To have _fans_. I _never_ would've thought."

"Weiss." Blake shook her head. While the heiress _did_ have a point, she could've been far gentler with her approach. Ruby was the heiress' girlfriend, after all, even if she could annoy the singer at times.

 _"... Sorry, sometimes I forgot you girls were... well... you."_

"It happens," Blake (lied) comforted, even if that couldn't be further than the truth.

"So, what you're saying is you want to broadcast this in an official interview," Weiss said with furrowed eyebrows. "It does have a better chance of getting people to believe your words rather than just a video from the internet."

 _"Yeah. Glynda wanted to make it super official, and what better way to do it than in front of the TV?"_ Well. She couldn't argue with _that_ logic. _"So? Wanna babysit Yang while I'm gone? She can be kinda reckless when she's injured."_

Blake smirked. "She _is_ reckless with or without an injury."

A chuckle. _"True. So, what do you say, Blake?"_

So, basically, she got to hang out with her girlfriend of officially twenty days - yes, she'd counted, and she was sure Yang did the same as well - in her own apartment alone.

... Well, the answer was obvious, wasn't it?

* * *

The answer definitely _wasn't_ a 'no', since she was already inside the moving elevator, thinking of the many ways she and Yang could spend their time together.

It only occurred to her now that she had never known what kind of place Yang lived in. She never, let alone, step foot in it.

The one time she'd gotten inside Yang's apartment building, she'd only caught glimpses of what she perceived to be the living-room, and even then, it wasn't even _that_ clear of a picture.

If Blake were being honest, she didn't know what exactly she was feeling, but she knew it was somewhere between excited and anxious. If she were Yang, she'd label herself as being 'anxcited' or 'exxious' or other weirdly clever ways to fuse the two words together.

But for now, she'd prefer the word 'nervous'.

The elevator door opened with a loud 'DING!'

Before she stepped outside, Blake brushed off her grey shirt and darker grey jeans in case there were any wrinkles. _Coming over to your girlfriend's apartment isn't a huge step, but I'd be lying if I said I'm not concerned._

She walked across the hallway with deliberate, controlled steps, scanning each and every room number with sharpness.

A part of herself argued with, _You've been in her room before, Blake. Stop being such a scaredy cat!_

 _I've never STEPPED inside her apartment,_ the other part of herself countered. _I barely got a glimpse of what it looked like._

When she found the familiar number, she looked back and forth between Ruby's messages - particularly the one giving her room number information - to confirm that this room still, in fact, belonged to the wild sisters and that they hadn't, in fact, moved to a different room without her notice.

She bought her hand up, clench it into a fist, and knocked.

* * *

Yang shot her eyes up when she heard knocking. Strange. She wasn't expecting anyone, and Ruby never said she was expecting anyone or anything either.

She made a move to stand but stopped herself from doing so.

 _Phew, almost forgot,_ she said, internally smirking like a devil.

Her foot wasn't hurting anymore. In fact, from the very start, she knew it wasn't a _serious_ injury to begin with. It was a small cut. Everyone got them at one point in their lives.

But Ruby didn't know it was far from a serious injury.

Yang didn't _let_ her find out.

Even until now, the young girl was convinced her big sister was _badly_ wounded and would most likely not be able to walk freely for another couple of _days._

Yang had been using her in _many_ ways, ranging from simple things such as "The remote's too far away for me to reach can you grab it for me?" to the more satisfying ones such as "Can you buy all these things for me? I would if I could but... well... your girlfriend is very _fond_ of domestic abuse."

Ruby had gladly served to all of her wishes. Well, she looked _reluctant_ , but she still served to all of her wishes and that was _all_ that mattered!

Heh. Ignorant kid.

"Ruby~!" she called in a singing voice. "Answer the door for me~!"

In hindsight, she probably should stop it with the 'oh no I am injured therefore I am helpless' act, especially since it had been two days since the accident, but it was just so fun to laze around and skip classes every once in a while.

"Coming!" Speaking of which, her sister appeared into view, walking rather hurriedly while looking... dressed?

"You going on a date with Weiss?" was her first guess.

Ruby gave her a half-embarrassed half-angry look. Yang responded by shrugging. _What?_ It was a legitimate guess. She hadn't even been _trying_ to tease the brunette... for once.

Her sister opened the door, revealing…

"Blake?"

To say Yang was surprised was an understatement.

'Thrilled' wouldn't be a perfect word choice for it, because it implied that at the very core she was merely excited, and Yang wasn't _just_ thrilled about seeing her girlfriend.

And saying she was shocked would be underestimating it since her soaring heart proved it was more than a mere 'shock'.

She was... excited, that Blake was here. Yeah. _Excited._ That was the right word. Or perhaps... she was happy. That _could_ also work.

"Hi, Yang," Blake greeted. Her words were casual, but the way she'd said it confirmed it was anything but. And judging by what lied beneath those amber eyes, it was safe to assume that Blake also felt the same way she did.

"Hey Blake, glad you didn't get lost!" Ruby said in a non-joking way.

Her sentence and the way she phrased it cause her suspicion to rise. "You... _wanted_ her here?"

"Well, yeah." Ruby gave her a small shrug as if to say it was no big deal. The older sister noticed, however, that the corner of her lips slightly tugged upward, which caused her to frown. "Remember when I said me and Goodwitch were planning on clearing out the rumors?"

"Yeah." It involved the two of them going to some big news corporation to officially state it in front of some official people... or _something._

"Well, we're gonna be doing that thing now," declared the brunette, who moved past Blake outside in a sudden haste, eager to leave the two of them alone. "So, bye!" was the last thing Yang heard from her before she full-on sprinted through the hallway.

Huh. No matter how old Ruby had gotten, it seemed she would still always prefer doing things fast.

After blinking several times to fully let what had transpired sink in, Yang turned her attention solely to her girlfriend... her immediate thought was wow.

Blake was leaning against the doorframe. Her hands were casually tucked in her pockets as she looked at the direction where Ruby had run towards, her head slightly tilted upward.

In all honesty, she shouldn't feel this way. After all, she'd seen lots of other people leaning against a doorframe, and yet none of them caused her to feel the way she did.

Blake looked... hot. _Hotter_ than usual.

Maybe it was because Yang hadn't seen her in two whole days. In retrospect, two days weren't that long a time without seeing someone. But this wasn't just a 'someone'. This was Blake. And for Yang, two days without seeing her girlfriend felt like two whole _decades._ And- no! She _refused_ to call that an exaggeration! It was no exaggeration! Not for _her._

Or maybe it was because of Blake's look. Yang had never seen the noirette wear such a short-sleeved t-shirt. It might as well be _sleeveless_. It revealed things the blonde had never thought to appreciate about her girlfriend.

Despite her figure looking skinnier than Yang herself, Blake's arm, while not necessary toned, per se, certainly looked fit, especially considering she'd been holding a who-knows-how-many-pound bass on a _daily_ basis.

Yang wondered why she hadn't realized how smooth her skin looked.

"So..." The beautiful voice that belonged to Blake Belladonna echoed throughout the not-so-large living room.

Lilac eyes looked up from Blake's admittedly-cute looking arms to her eyes, chiding herself for ogling her girlfriend so openly and unashamedly. Even if she was technically her girlfriend, it didn't exactly excuse her for acting like such a creep.

Thankfully, Blake didn't seem to notice. Or if she did so, then she did a terrific job of hiding it.

Blake scanned her apartment with obvious interest, and Yang began to feel a little self-conscious about how messy it was and regretted delaying the task of tidying it up. Granted, it didn't look _that_ messy - there were only one or two objects that were misplaced - but... still.

Then, the noirette ran her hand through her dark tresses, pulling some of those strands up before letting go and letting them loose to sway around.

It... stirred something in Yang.

Something... _primal._

"Your place looks-"

Blake didn't even have a chance to finish her sentence.

How could she when her mouth was too busy kissing Yang's.

* * *

 **What starts off as a mindless fluff could possibly turn into a mindless s*x.**

 **... Just kidding, I don't know how to write smut. I don't think I ever will, to be honest.**

 **Fun fact: Blake's outburst through the phone call was actually inspired by the real life event in which the quiet one in my friend group goes completely berserk once he finds out that we've been copying his homework without him realising. I know it doesn't closely resemble to what you've read in this chapter, but it _was_ what got me into writing this. We've seen Ruby, Weiss, and Yang all "explode", but never Blake. Not until now, at least.**

 **Oh yeah, and support me on P*Treon... if you want. If not, then, it's cool :3**

 **See you all next week!**


	34. Couch Talks

**Ugh. My brain is fried. Completely and totally and absolutely fried. And I still have extra lessons I need to attend to, not to mention exercise because "it's good for you or else you'll get fat and die".**

 **I hope you have had a better day than me. If not, then hey, maybe this chapter'll cheer you up?**

* * *

They were on the couch.

Blake didn't know how they got there, but she didn't want to question it.

Her breath was still weak after the... umm... intense activity that they'd both... participated in.

She now had her head tucked right below Yang's chest. The girl's yellow hair stuck out in some places, and it tickled her arms.

Blake found it amazing how safe she felt in the girl's arms, which were wrapped around her waist. She wasn't sure she'd ever felt this way around anybody else. Not even her own parents _(sorry, Mom and Dad, but it's true.)_

Her eyes stared at the ceilings, but she wasn't looking there. She wasn't looking anywhere.

Instead, she focused on her other senses. Like her hearing. It was able to detect the sound of Yang's heartbeats. Blake was never ashamed of her extra ears anymore, but at this particular moment, she was glad to have them. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to hear such an intricate part of any person's being with such great detail.

They were loud but calm and steady. Blake supposed even her own heart was exactly like its owner.

Yang was always seen as loud and boisterous, but that wasn't all that she was. She had this caring side in her too. The side that was calm when others weren't. Yang was a steady part of her life, despite everything that had happened. In all six months that they'd been apart, the girl hadn't changed a bit and, honestly, that was comforting.

Blake could easily find herself going into the deep realm of slumber guided by Yang's heartbeat.

"Hey, Blake?"

Amber eyes blinked themselves back into reality. And it took her longer than she'd anticipated realizing Yang had called her. Once she did notice, she hummed in response.

"Do you ever imagine the future?"

A black eyebrow rose at the suddenness of the question, but she nonetheless answered, "Yes." She preferred to keep her answers simple lest she gave away things that the blonde might use to embarrass her later on. Yang had incredible ways of making Blake feel flustered about things that, in honesty, wasn't all that flustering. It was one of the weird, small things about Yang Blake had always kept in mind.

Blake felt the rumble in Yang's chest as she chuckled. "I guess everyone does." Indeed. It didn't matter what kind of future people imagined, or how much detail was put in their little fantasy future. Everyone had imagined what their lives would be like at a later time.

It made her wonder what kind of future Yang imagined.

So she asked. "What future do you imagine?"

Yang's heartbeat fastened. It changed its pace in a small amount, but Blake discerned.

"A good one."

Blake chuckled. It was obvious Yang was trying to hide something. But Blake knew how to made her talk, it was only a matter of asking the right questions. "Alright," she said, her voice ladened with a teasing tone. "What's it about?"

There was a pause before Yang answered. Blake knew the girl took that time to choose her words carefully. That, of course, made her even more interested in what was going on inside her girlfriend's pretty brain.

"I'm in a... house."

Blake considered for a short while. "Is it a big house?" Because Blake would like it if it was. She neither ever dreamed nor want a mansion - personally, she thought the large spaces separated her from the people who lived with her which would be unfortunate. She only really wanted a house that was bigger than the so-called average.

"It doesn't really matter."

"Then, what does?"

She waited for an answer with baited breath. For whatever reason, she felt like this answer would be important to her. Like it mattered to her.

A small part of her mind pointed out that this was just a silly hypothetical question about what Yang wanted in the future. But the even smaller part of her mind knew that the answer would reveal who Yang wanted to be with when the future came.

"Who's in that house."

She had a guess. Or maybe it was more of a hope. A hope that she knew was too stupid to be true. A hope she held onto anyway.

Yang's heartbeat fastened again. Hers did the same.

"I..."

A phone rang. She could feel Yang jolting a little in surprise.

"Oh, would you look at that!" Yang said, her tone too cheerful and high-pitched to be true. "I got a call to answer."

Blake sat up with a scowl as Yang grabbed her phone. That was such a convenient excuse. She couldn't even stay mad at her ridiculously cute girlfriend.

"Hello?" Yang said, trying to busy herself by standing up and stretching. Blake idly stood by and watched with a smirk, feeling proud of how disheveled the girl looked, knowing it was because of her. "Oh, hey Ruby... What's up?" Blake's ear flicked when she faintly heard shouting from the other line. Based on the face her girlfriend was making, the young brunette didn't seem to be pleased with... something. "Alright, alright, I'll make it up to you." That 'something' probably had to do with Yang doing another something that didn't benefit the younger sibling.

Blake waited until the call was over before asking, "What was that about?"

Yang turned and looked at her with a lopsided smirk. "Would you believe me if I told you it wasn't my fault."

Blake smiled with amusement. "If I did I wouldn't be your girlfriend, wouldn't I?"

Yang's face was filled with shock before she laughed and rubbed her mane again. With the decency to look apologetic, she said, "So... Rubes found out about me pretending to be the wounded, tragic, helpless girl. And..."

"Is she mad?" Blake knew the answer, but she'd asked anyway - out of politeness than anything.

"Yup. She's mad," Yang sighed, emphasizing the word 'mad'. Without much warning, Yang let her body drop onto the couch with a loud flop. Blake scooted over to give her room.

"I did think the way you _threw yourself_ at me when we were alone was a little strange." But again, she hadn't found herself caring then.

Yang lied with her stomach, looking up at her as she supported her face with both of her arms linked together. "I guess you just looked too pretty."

It was futile to try and fight the growing blush on her face, but Blake tried her best to frown it away. "I look the same."

"... Maybe it's got something to do with your shirt?"

Blake looked at her own clothing, examining it. "I guess I look a little different." She wanted to try on something new, so she decided to wear more... revealing type of clothing. Maybe she should wear them more often, especially if they evoked that kind of reaction from Yang.

"You look good." Yang had this goofy, day-dreaming smile that made Blake want to pinch her puffed-out cheeks. "I mean, you always look good, but you look different. And in a good way."

Blake's hand outstretched and was placed atop of the girl's head carefully. She knew how much the girl cared about her hair. It wouldn't matter if Blake was her partner or not - if someone messed with Yang Xiao Long's hair, they would pay.

"You're always going to be my fan, aren't you?" she asked.

Yang snickered. "Well, I _was_ your fan before your girlfriend," she said, amusement dancing in her features.

"And how long have you been a fan of me?" Blake's eyebrow lowered. She truly had forgotten.

"Err... maybe two years? Give or take." Blake gaped at her. Yang shrugged indecisively. "I mean, it's hard not to notice you."

But it wasn't. Blake knew her place in the band, and it wasn't the same as Weiss'. She was no star of the show. She had never been. And she was alright with that. She knew people simply liked Weiss' more direct and expert personality than her own less talkative one.

It was fine for everybody. She had made it clear early on that she didn't like people asking personal questions about her, and so not a lot of people would look at her with the same awe and admiration as they did with Weiss.

She didn't join the band because of the fame. She did it for the sole reason of making music.

"Yang?"

A hum of response.

"What made you like me? Before you knew me, I mean."

Yang rolled onto her back while softly saying "Boy..." When the blonde faced her, Blake could see a tinge of pink coloring her cheeks. "Do you really wanna know?"

Blake looked at her levelly. "Well, now I do." Seeing Yang's reacted like that, it only served to make her more curious. And curiosity did kill her, after all.

"Okay, well, umm..." Yang, being the theatric-lover that she was, faked a cough. "The truth is... I... don't really know myself." Blake raised an eyebrow. That certainly didn't explain anything, so she'd just wait for Yang to tell more. The blonde stared at her for a few seconds, mostly out of uncertainty than anything else, before she suddenly looked away. "When I first found out about you, I... didn't really think much of it other than 'hey, this girl's cute' then I moved on, go and do my daily things, you know… I... I don't know what, but... something just seems to drag me back onto you."

"Drag you back?" It interested Blake; the words Yang chose to describe her eventual crush towards her. "Drag you back how?"

"Like I said. I don't really know myself." Blake studied Yang. The girl was embarrassed, that much was obvious. Who wouldn't be when they were talking about how they got their crush... to their crush themselves. But underneath all that, there was something more. Something deeper. "At first, I didn't think much of you. But... after a few... _weeks_ , I think, I started to think about you more and more, which doesn't make any sense. I began to do some research about you... found out about your music. I listened to some of it... until I listened to all of it. And when that wasn't enough, I tried to find out more about you."

Yang stopped for a moment. Maybe it was to take a breather. Maybe to simply formulate her thoughts and articulate it.

Blake found herself wishing Yang would quickly start talking again. It didn't take much longer for Yang to do just that.

"Fast forward to three months and boom. I was a fan of you and, to an extent, Hunters and Huntresses. But, eh, while I do like their music, I'm mostly just there for you. Fast forward to five more months and... I met you."

A smile graced Blake's lips. How could she forget such an... unpredictable meeting.

After all, it was hard to forget seeing someone as gorgeous as Yang was, and then hearing them claim to be a fan of you.

She could go on and on about how she'd felt and thought during that short time of getting to know Yang for hours. And personally, she wouldn't mind doing just that.

Abruptly, a thought occurred to her. A rather strange one.

"Is it kind of weird that you've known me for two years and yet I've only known you for six- almost seven months now?"

"Well, when you say it like that, it does seem a little weird," Yang said whilst making a face. Blake couldn't agree more. Maybe she should've used a better phrasing? "Yeah, I don't wanna think about this weird thing," she quickly said. "Wanna watch a movie?"

Blake hummed in confirmation. She didn't want their time alone to be spent exploring on a subject that could potentially be depressing.

She personally had never been a fan of movies, but she wouldn't mind watching them sometimes, even if the quality wasn't very decent. She mostly did it out of enjoyment than pure pleasure.

When Yang stood up and started walking, showing no signs of any 'foot injuries', Blake wistfully asked, "Are you sure you should be walking right now?"

The blonde stopped mid-way and looked at her with eyes that made her look as if she was apologetic, but with a smirk that proved she was anything but.

"You're right, Blake. You should help me walk. Carry me princess-style!" Blake rolled her eyes to act like she was unimpressed, but couldn't help but laugh at the confident and innocent way Yang had delivered her words.

"I thought I was the princess," she retorted with a playful wink.

Yang frowned and crossed her arms, but not without a knowing smile. "No way, you're too badass to be a princess! You're like, my knight in shining armor!" She looked up for a moment. "My knightess in shining armor."

"A knightess?" Blake inquired.

Yang smiled with a not-so-caring shrug. "Yeah, they're like knights, but for women."

"I... don't think that word exists."

The blonde looked genuinely surprised. "It doesn't?"

Blake shook her head. Honestly, how exactly did _she_ end up being _her_ girlfriend? Of all people?

"Well... that's news to me," said Yang, who now looked uncertain, shuffling her weight from one foot to the other, biting her cheek and rubbing her hair in that quirky little way Blake had always adored. "Umm... let's get to the movies, then." Blake watched as Yang pick up a small box from one of her drawers. "This is where Rubes and I store all of our favorite movies... It's mostly just cheap comedy."

"Speaking of Ruby," she began tentatively. "What'll you do to make it up to her?"

Yang shrugged in a tentative manner, her head tilting a little as she readjusted her grip on the box. Blake's ear flicked at how effortlessly the blonde made it seem when holding it but didn't think much of it.

"I don't know," answered the blonde, honest. "I'm just gonna give her some IOUs."

"Still..." She knew it was a little invasive to try and tackle a problem that clearly was not hers, but she knew her girlfriend well, despite only having to hang out for no more than weeks, Blake was able to read her like a book... it also helped; the fact that Yang was an open-book. "Don't you think you should try and make it up to her?"

"Like, with a gift?" asked Yang, puzzled but intrigued.

Slowly, she nodded. "Yeah, maybe..." It was just a suggestion. "What does Ruby like?"

"Weiss," replied Yang without much thought. Blake's cheeks reddened just a little. "And music... and cookies... and strawberries..." Yang frowned deeper and deeper the more she gave suggestions. At last, she settled with, "Lots of sweet or artsy things, really."

Blake stroked her chin with her fingers, trying to come up with some way to lessen her girlfriend's unavoidable suffering.

"Maybe you can give her cookies."

Yang's face twisted in regret. "Yeah, you know we can't do that because of the whole 'trapping them in a restaurant' thing, right?"

Recently-made memories struck her. The walk with Ruby. The talk with Ruby. The 'locking Ruby inside the restaurant'. The ice cream.

"Do you think they're together?" Blake asked. When Yang's only response was to give her a look, she elaborated, "I mean as girlfriends. They never exactly confirmed it..."

"Yeah, well," said Yang, who looked a little frustrated. "They never said they weren't girlfriends. And I'm not taking no for an answer." Blake began to chuckle, remembering what had happened once Weiss saw Yang. "Yeah, let's just watch a movie already."

"Fine." Yang had enough teasing... for today. "What do you have?"

"Umm..." Yang placed the box on the couch for both of them to see, then sat next to it. Blake scooted closer towards it, interested. "We have... actions, blockbusters, comedy movies, bad sequels, _worse_ prequels..." Her eyes lit up, and a grin formed its way into her lips. "There's this horror movie we can watch if you're not scared. You can totally snuggle up to me in case you're scared."

"No horror movies have ever scared me." Blake frowned. Not in annoyance at being treated like a scaredy-cat, but more in confusion. She truly had never once been scared of a horror film. In fact, she thought those of literature was always better at delivering what they intended to deliver than those of movies, horrors included.

Yang seemed to interpret her frowning as her being annoyed, and proceeded to laugh good-heartedly, which did serve to annoy Blake a little more.

"Yeah?" she rhetorically asked, hands already busy with rummaging through the one she expected to pop out. "Well, you're gonna have to prove it with... this!"

She pulled out a hard-cover. Blake squinted.

It was an image of a girl sitting in front of a static-filled TV, putting her hands against the mirror screen. The title wasn't one she recognized.

"What's it about?" she asked, moreso out of indifference than interest.

"If I tell you, it'll ruin the fun~" teased her childish girlfriend in response.

She glared. "That's not how it works," she pointed out, logically.

Yang shrugged and made a zipping motion to her mouth; the universal sign for "I'm not telling!"

Knowing how stubborn her girlfriend could be, Blake rolled her eyes and said, "Let's just watch the movie already."

* * *

As Blake had suspected earlier... The movie wasn't scary for her. In fact, she wasn't sure it was scary in general. Yang did seem to be entertained by it, but she hadn't shown any signs of fear - not a jolt, nor a gasp - which... defeated the whole purpose of horror.

At least the blanket was warm. Yang had suggested the idea of wearing them. She wasn't exactly cold, but as the blonde had said, "It helps to add the spookiness!"

Turning off all the lights also helped.

She supposed the movie itself wasn't bad. But... it also wasn't a horror movie. But it was advertised as if it was a horror movie...

It was a false advertising.

Overall, she was having a nice time. She was with Yang, in her own home, watching a horror movie while laying in the couch.

But... something was missing.

Something she couldn't immediately place.

A warm hand rested around her waist, and she was pulled closer towards Yang until their bodies looked like they had never been apart in the first place. Like they had always been together. From the beginning of any and all things.

Ah. This was what was missing. Yang. Or rather, the lack of distance between Yang and she herself.

She allowed a blissful sigh to pass her lips and snuggled in closer with the girl she was proud to have as a lover. She smiled when Yang responded by tightening her hold around her waist.

She never would've imagined ending up the way she was now. In a small, cozy apartment that was not her own. Being held by Yang in a way that made her feel safer than she'd ever felt before.

Months ago, she never would've dreamed of feeling such comfort.

It was astonishing, really. How quickly things could change.

With few words, she and Yang were now together.

With a simple act of pulling someone closer, the other person could feel complete.

And with a simple sigh, they could become closer together even more.

"Hey, Blake?"

She didn't tear her eyes away from the screen. She was too cozy to move. She didn't feel Yang moving her head either, or turning her body to get a better look at her.

"Hm?"

Yang didn't speak for a long while. When she did, her voice was a hushed whisper.

"Do you think there's a future for us?"

Funny, she'd been asking herself that question.

Could there ever be a future for them? Moreover, could there be a good future for the two of them together where they could live a relatively peaceful life? Or perhaps even a normal one?

Realistically, the chances were slim to none.

It was part of her daily life to travel from one city to the other; It was never that way for Yang.

People expected her to grow bigger as a star as time went on; People expected Yang to make a living here in Vale.

Blake lived a life of fame; Yang lived a life of normality.

She was a musician; Yang was not.

She was a band member; Yang was not.

She was famous; Yang was her fan.

Yang was her fan; Yang was her girlfriend.

Would there be a chance of them being able to be happy and chase their own dreams while still being together?

Blake... didn't know.

But did she think there was a future for an "us"?

"... I know so."

She truly did.

The credits began to roll. Blake would've made a comment about her thoughts on the movie... if she'd been paying attention in the first place. Instead, she did her best to snuggle in closer towards Yang.

After minor readjustments from both parts, they found themselves perfectly content with Blake laying atop of Yang. Her head was tucked in nicely under her chest, and Yang's chin tickled her head.

Blake stared at the ceilings once more.

"What day is it, Blakey?"

She found the question too absurd and random not to be suspicious, but she answered anyway - though not without a raised eyebrow. "Friday."

"Ah," came the short, immediate response. It wasn't after a long while did Yang speak again. And when she did, it was far from what Blake had expected to say.

"You're leaving in a week, then."

Dread shot through her.

 _... Dust._

... She'd forgotten.

Blake didn't know what was more shocking; the fact that Yang knew she was leaving in three days, or the fact that Yang didn't seem so troubled by this news at all.

"You're not mad?" she asked before she could help herself.

Blake felt Yang's chuckle - her chest vibrating lowly and jolting lightly.

"Why would I?" Blake was about to tell her why she should when Yang continued. "I mean, sure, I'm not gonna see you, but only for a while."

"... Four months is not 'a while'," she pointed out, grimly. And even then, she wasn't sure if she could make the time to travel to Vale.

Yang made a cringing sound. "Well, yeah, it's really not, but... I'm pretty sure I'll still 'like like' you by then."

Blake frowned. "How can you be so sure?"

"Eh," Blake felt Yang moving - maybe she shrugged? "I mean, my feelings for you didn't change after six whole months. What makes you think four months will be different?"

Blake bit her lip. "Still..."

They lived differently.

They were different.

How could they ever be together?

"Hey, c'mon now." As if sensing her distress, Yang nuzzled into her, planting a kiss on her head. It calmed Blake down, somehow. "We still got a whole week. That's a long way to go."

A week wasn't a long way to go, a part of her wanted to argue. But...

But maybe she needed to believe that it was.

Maybe they both did.

"The future's still in the future. Why worry about that now? We can figure it out then." There was a pause before Yang spoke again, her voice sure and soft. "We'll figure it out, Blake. I know we will."

Yeah.

Maybe they truly would.

* * *

 **And, um, hey, guys?... I don't know how to tell you this, I've been putting this off for a while but I think now's a better time than any to announce:**

 **Fans and Girlfriends will be ending soon.**

 **Now, I don't mean "soon" soon, I still have a couple of chapters in store, and, because the story's being updated weekly, you guys still have a month (and more) worth of content.**

 **If you want to know more of why, you can just ask me directly through the PM, I can go in great detail that way, but, simply put: It's time to end this story. I've been writing this story for _10 whole months_ and it deserves to rest. I'm grateful of this story because, without it, I wouldn't have learned the things I've learned about writing and I wouldn't have meet such great people. **

**I'm grateful for you guys too! Yes, you! The one reading this! I'm grateful that you even _want_ to read my story, let alone favouriting/following/reviewing it! Seriously, some of you have posted reviews that either cracks me up or melts my heart. Thank you. Really.**

 **And, hey, if you're feeling down, don't worry! This isn't the end! We still have more chapters to go! And it's not like I'm gonna stop writing entirely! I'm actually working on a new story as we speak, not to mention there's "Three Masters".**

 **This story isn't ending right now, but it will soon. I know you all have questions, and you're free to ask them. I'll do my best to answer :)**

 **See you all next week.**


	35. An Interview

**I have written this story for over _10 months_ , and only _now_ did I _fucking_ realize that it's not called "Hunters", but rather, "Huntsmen"**

 **...**

 **Fucking hell I need a bloody whiskey to contemplate on this. And maybe some bleach too while I'm at it.**

 **Like- it's been _10 damn months_! And _none of you_ ever bothered to correct me on this! Not a single damn one.**

 **Like, fuck you too, guys.**

 **… Eh, "Hunters" sounds more original anyways. Cheers.**

* * *

Ruby Rose looked towards the full-sized mirror next to her.

There was a scoff. "Ruby, you look proper."

The girl whined. She _knew_ Weiss was right, but this was the first time Ruby would ever be on TV! This might be the _only_ time she would ever be on TV! Didn't she deserve to be at least a little nervous?

They were in the news building... or something. They were waiting here, in the lounge, for the news lady, Miss Lisa... umm... Lisa Something to come.

"Are you sure I shouldn't wear something properer?" Ruby asked, giving herself a once-over.

What she'd picked out earlier that day was a simple red shirt with rose patterns and tight white leggings - it was a far contrast to Weiss' own choice of clothing; a white business-y jacket covering a blue shirt, completed by a white skirt and heels.

Back then - by that she meant a few hours ago - Ruby thought her own outfit was a brilliant way to show everyone that, with the simple clothes she wore every day, she could never be a member of some popular, cool band.

It only occurred to her now that _thousands_ of people would be watching. Maybe even _millions._

… _What if TRILLIONS of people are watching?!_ the less rational side of her screamed.

Ruby would be lying if she said she wasn't at all nervous.

... She also would be lying if she said there was little to no chance she won't get into her 'panicky state', AKA the state where she couldn't think straight, could only worry, where everything was just so loud and fast, and- oh man, she didn't want to do this, didn't want people to ask her questions, didn't want people to look at her and _judge_ her, Dust, she-

"Ruby."

Her distressed eyes locked into Weiss' calm and comforting blue.

"Just breathe."

Oh. She hadn't realized she'd been breathing heavily.

She... also hadn't realized how she must have looked in front of her own girlfriend.

"Sorry," she mumbled, looking away in shame. Weiss didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve having to watch her girlfriend having an attack.

She didn't deserve having a girlfriend who could even have attacks.

"Why are you sorry?"

Ruby's head shot up, turning to look at her. Weiss looked... genuinely curious. Like she hadn't realized what a mess of a person Ruby actually was.

It was beyond her; what exactly Weiss Schnee - Weiss _freaking_ Schnee - saw in her.

"Because I'm like... _this._ " She vaguely gestured towards herself, a tint of pink coloring her cheeks. She got a little worried when Weiss' expression turned angrier with each second. She opened her mouth, wanting to ask why Weiss would be mad at the truth when...

She was flicked on the forehead.

It... didn't hurt. But it was... surprising.

Weiss was giving her a glare. But she wasn't scared. There was warmth radiating from those blue eyes, and that was all Ruby needed to know she wasn't mad at her. Not really. She was just... being Weiss.

"This isn't your choice. This isn't your fault. And _this_ isn't _you._ "

When Weiss spoke, her voice was firm, and her words were like the law.

The way she'd said those words were as if they were unquestionable facts. Like the fact that Remnant had four kingdoms. Or Yang was Ruby's sister. They were all facts. Just like what Weiss had spoken.

Ruby gave her a smile. She knew it wasn't as bright nor as wide as her normal ones, but it was sincere. To her, that was what mattered most in one's smile.

"Thanks, Weiss," she said. "You're right."

Weiss' mouth quirked upward. She kept a straight face, but Ruby saw the humor in her eyes when she said, "Of course I am. I'm me."

Being the awesome girlfriend that she was, Ruby played along. "You are you."

The brunette couldn't help but break down into a fit of giggles. She couldn't help it - Weiss was so cute when she was making a joke. The singer let out a few chuckles on her own.

Once the small moment had passed, Ruby looked at Weiss fondly. She probably looked ridiculous with the dopey way she was smiling, but she couldn't help it.

"... You know, Weiss, you really didn't have to come." Ruby's happiness spiked when Weiss shot her a glare - as if her words had insulted her. As if not coming was not even an option for the heiress. The younger girl decided to tease her. "I guess you just wanted to be with me because you missed me so much~," she said breezily, pulling her hands behind her head and taking a few steps away from Weiss aimlessly - emulating what she'd seen Yang done several times when she was being absentminded.

Weiss stared at her with narrowed, calculating eyes. Her face was a combination of horror and resignation.

"... It's times like this where I am reminded that you and your brute of a sister are related." She suddenly released a tired-sounding sigh, massaging her temples as if the thought of Yang itself pained her in some way. "Honestly, she is _so_ dramatic."

Ruby raised an eyebrow at that, putting her hand down. "How do you mean?" As far as she knew, Weiss and Yang hadn't interacted all that much... Unless she was missing something.

"She told you she won't come here because she's still injured, right?" Weiss scoffed and shook her head when she saw Ruby nodding. "Honestly... that brute," she muttered under her breath, which did nothing but elevate her confusion.

"Wait, isn't her injury, like, super bad? She still can barely walk last time I saw her!" Which was a real pain in the butt! Ruby was forced to do her every bidding, which... wasn't necessarily bad, per se. It was just... Yang had asked her for a lot of things. Turning off the lights. Finding the remote. Grabbing her charger. A second pillow because one simply wasn't enough.

Ugh. The list was _endless._

Weiss was looking at her with mixed emotions. Most of it was confusion. But there was a hint of humor plastered in those eyes. But, unlike earlier, Ruby had a growing suspicion she wouldn't be liking the untold joke...

Maybe because she was the joke in this situation.

"... Ruby... I tended to your sister's injury... I know it isn't the closest bit to fatal."

Ruby's frown deepened. "But then why would she-" It clicked. "... OH HECK NO!"

In a blur of motions, Ruby had her phone glued to her ear, waiting for her conning, emotionally-manipulating, lying big sister to pick up her gosh darn phone!

 _"Hello?"_ Yang answered. Ruby's anger flared when she detected a hint of irritation in her voice. If anyone should be irritated, it should be Ruby Rose!

"Yang..."

Somehow, her air-headed sister hadn't heard the threat coming from that one word alone, answering with a simple _"Oh, hey Ruby... What's up?"_

Ruby took a deep breath... and let it out...

Along with all of her anger.

"Is that really all you have to say to me after you basically _made_ me your _slave?!_ " Yang had the decency to cringe on the other line. But that wouldn't save her. Nothing would. "I know you love pranking Yang, but this crosses the line! You stole away my cookies, and now you're lying to me?! What next?! Sell my precious guitars?! Ugh! This is _so_ not funny, Yang! You better make it up to me ASAP or I'm telling Dad! You hear me!"

 _"Alright, alright, I'll make it up to you."_

"You _better!_ " And Ruby felt that was the exact time to hung up the phone.

Ruby wasn't actually mad at her big sister. Not really. She was just... frustrated. She knew Yang had an affinity towards doing awesomely reckless things, but sometimes she could be a little too mean for her liking.

"Umm... Miss Rose?"

Ruby froze, before very slowly turning her heads towards where she had heard the unrecognizable voice.

Standing outside of the room, hand still gripping the doorknob, was a person who didn't seem to be much older than they were, yet clearly was a staff at the show based on the way he dressed.

He didn't look that bothered by what he'd heard, yet Ruby couldn't help but blush at the prospect of someone seeing her when she was not in her best mood.

Behind her, Weiss made an "ugh" sound. Ruby could practically feel her exasperation.

"Lisa Lavender is ready," the boy said with a small, curt nod.

Ruby was too mortified to give a nod back. Or a response to that matter. After a few awkward seconds of silence, it was Weiss who replied after giving a small cough, "Thank you..."

The man blinked his purple eyes before his lips quirked up ever so slightly. That did nothing but elevate Ruby's embarrassment. "Ren. Lie Ren."

"Ren," Weiss repeated.

He gave another polite nod before leaving. The door closed with barely a sound.

Now that they were alone, Ruby could go back to doing what she had been doing earlier...

Panicking about her horrible choice of clothing.

She glanced at herself through the mirror again, accidentally letting a small whimper of discomfort slip from her mouth.

It didn't go unnoticed by Weiss - judging by the way she sighed in something akin to submission.

Ruby was taken by surprise when Weiss suddenly started to unbutton her jacket. She blinked, watching as Weiss took it off.

"... Uum, Weiss?"

She yelped when Weiss tried to drape her jacket onto her, giving her a frown of confusion. It wasn't that she didn't trust Weiss, it was just... what, exactly, was her girlfriend doing?

Weiss looked at her, then looked away for a second, biting her lip and growing a blush. When she looked back, she had this weak glare on her, like she was trying to be authoritative... but she was failing miserably.

"Just... here." A dark-colored eyebrow rose, but Ruby stayed still, not quite catching what the older girl was trying to do. Weiss suddenly extended her hand. Ruby was face-to-face with Weiss' expensive-looking jacket. "Put this on."

"Wha-?"

"Just put it on, dolt," came the authoritative voice of the blushing heiress. "Or else you'll worry about how you look, even when you're fine."

Ruby couldn't fight the growing smile on her face. Wordlessly, she did as told, secretly awing at the sight of Weiss trying to act like she didn't care.

When she looked in the mirror again, all she could think of was: Huh. I look good.

That was a bit of an understatement. The jacket fitted her perfectly. It made her look more mature than she actually was and more... formal.

This was exactly the kind of thing she needed!

She turned towards Weiss, gave her a peck on the lips, and said, "Thanks, Weiss!" before grabbing her hand and leaving the room, giggling when she turned to look back on the heiress only to find her as red as her own name.

* * *

Weiss watched as Ruby nervously shook hands with the well-known Miss Lavender. The brunette was smiling, but that didn't mean she was calm. The singer wasn't that dense. She knew better.

Still... compared to how she'd acted minutes ago before she was given her jacket... She was certain Ruby wouldn't be scared... that much.

And even so, as much as Weiss hated to admit it, the girl was in good hands.

Her band and Lisa Lavender had known each other back from when their careers just started, unlike most reporters or show hosts, where they began to call them when they were already stars.

Weiss knew Lisa Lavender. Maybe they weren't close, but she'd had many interviews with the woman to the point where she knew what to expect on her interviews.

Unlike some interviewers, Lisa was one of those people who cared for those she interviewed. She wasn't the type who would ask freakish questions just to create some drama, nor was she the type who would ask her host to do weird things just for the sake of the ratings.

She was thankful Glynda was kind enough to make the call. She was even more thankful that Lisa graciously accepted the request.

Blue eyes narrowed.

So far, it seemed like the interview had been going well.

The woman had been asking Ruby average questions, such as where she came from, how old she was, and her hobbies.

"So, Ruby," Lisa drawled. "Why exactly did you perform that day? Was it to replace Neptune? Were you trying to make your debut as the new member?"

Ruby shook her head and hands. "No, Ma'am. I'm _not_ a new member." She gave the interviewer a cheerful, if not awkward smile.

Weiss noted that even with wearing the jacket that surprisingly fitted her, Ruby still looked out of place in such a... lifeless environment. She scanned the large space, noting that there was, of course, people there. Lots of them. People with jobs. People with things to do. People who were here to gain one thing; Lien.

Her girlfriend looked so out of place.

She didn't belong here. This place didn't suit her - though, to be fair, not a lot of place would suit the incomprehensible being that was Ruby Rose.

Her eyes trailed back onto the interview that was in progress. Nodding at each and every answer Ruby gave. She didn't sound as professional as Weiss had hoped, but her answers were honest, and that was all that mattered.

After all, the purpose of this interview was to give clearance to everyone - to stop the rumors spreading regarding Ruby soon joining her band.

Weiss took a deep breath and decided to listen to the interview.

"So," Lisa said, taking a sip of what looked like coffee. "If you didn't plan to perform in the concert, nor did you plan to join the band..." She placed her cup back on the table, leaning back on her sofa with a winning smirk. "Why did you do it?"

Weiss' eyes narrowed.

She had been expecting something like this to happen soon; While Lisa was far less violative than other hosts, she still needed to do her job and make sure people watch her show.

And what better way to do that than to add the spice of drama?

Ruby cleared her throat. "W-well..." It was clear for everyone that she was not at all expecting that question, nor did she seem to grasp how to answer such a question. "I... umm..." She was starting to break down. That much was obvious.

Weiss couldn't stand seeing Ruby backed into a corner like that-

"Actually, I asked her to."

-so she _wouldn't._

She fought the urge to smirk as she strode graciously towards the place where everything was filmed. Both Ruby, and Lisa, and even most of the cameramen dropped their jaws at the unexpected arrival.

Lisa was the first to recover from her trance of shock. "And what do you mean by that?" she asked after blinking more than once. Weiss could faintly hear stuttering in her voice. Good.

Before she answered, Weiss made a show of sitting down next to Ruby and getting comfortable. She needed the audience to think that her being in this interview was all part of the plan.

She made a move to touch her girlfriend's hand but stopped herself before she could do it despite her heart begging her to. Everyone's watching, her internal voice whispered. She wasn't sure if Ruby would be able to handle the pressure of 'going public' as Weiss Schnee's girlfriend. Even Weiss herself wasn't comfortable with everyone knowing about her relationship - and she was practically born into the world of fame.

Her eyes locked with Ruby's. She gave the young girl a smile she hoped told her "It's okay. I'll handle this."

She turned towards the woman who'd tried to make Ruby say things she would regret later on. And gave her a professional smile that came to her easily.

"I mean _I_ was the one who asked Ruby to momentarily replace Neptune while he was unavailable." The words came to her easily, in spite of them being lies.

Lisa hummed before regarding them both. Weiss noticed there was an interest that radiated in her eyes. But unlike before, this was a different kind of interest. Like the kind Weiss usually saw in her friends' eyes, or even Glynda's.

"And why did Ruby agree to this?"

She could feel Ruby's nervousness spike again, and answered a little too quickly, "It's obvious, isn't it?" She gave a brief pause. "Days before, I agreed with her request to sing a cover of a song. It became viral on the internet. And so when I needed her help, she must've felt obligated to." She looked at Ruby, who looked back with a confused frown. "Isn't that right, Ruby?"

Of course, it wasn't.

Everything Weiss had said were lies.

Ruby hadn't requested her to sing that cover. They'd planned things from months before.

And Weiss had never asked her to replace Neptune. At that time, she and Ruby weren't on speaking terms... Well, that wasn't the entire truth, it was more along the lines of; _I refuse to look Ruby in the eyes because of my guilt of kissing her._

And Ruby had never felt obligated to. Sure, she was, understandably, scared at first. But after receiving words of encouragement from her brute of a big sister, the brunette was more than ready to do the foolish task.

Lies, her words were.

And Weiss hated to do such a vile act.

But she had no choice. To expose the entire truth would do nothing more than draw unwanted attention. They were here to do nothing more than explaining the misunderstanding. They were here to try and make Ruby's life a little more... normal, again.

She hoped Ruby could understand that.

Silver locked with blue. The former had a million questions and the latter tried to convey words.

"Miss Rose?"

She was snapped out of her trance. Her cheeks pinked. She hoped no one thought much of the way they stared at each other. When looking at Lisa, however - or rather, the knowing, devilish smirk that accompanied the woman's face - Weiss' cheeks shifted from a small pink to a full-on bright red, which spread throughout her face and neck.

"Uh, yeah, Weiss is _totally_ telling the truth!" Weiss internally facepalmed at _that_. "Weiss has done so much for me. I was just paying her back. Nothing more."

Weiss froze and watched Lisa's reaction with critical eyes.

She could see the gears in her head turning. But she, very unfortunately, couldn't see nor hear what she was thinking.

Lisa let out a small chuckle. "Alright. If you say so."

Weiss let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. So did Ruby.

To her surprise, the next questions the woman asked wasn't as bad - for the lack of a better word - as she anticipated.

Sure, there were times when she asked teasing questions such as "Can you give us a little insight into what the band plans for the future?" or other questions which required her to spoil her latest's songs.

Of course, she responded properly... by telling her "No, I cannot." Or something similar to that.

Over time, the interview became less of a talk and more of a conversation.

Ruby, who, at first, illuminated nervousness, was now comfortable with herself. Her laughs sounded real. Her smile looked real. And she truly looked like she was enjoying herself.

While it was a little hard to read the host, Weiss did notice that she was regarding Ruby with this fondness in her eyes - like an older sibling would to their younger one. She supposed that was... acceptable.

And even she herself was starting to relax.

Honestly, why was she worked up with this? Why was Ruby worked up with this? It was just an interview! No harm was done!

What's the worst thing that could happen?

"Well, looks like our time is up, then," Lisa commented after seeing one of the workers from behind the camera giving the woman some sort of sign-language Weiss could not comprehend. "I only have one more question."

Weiss and Ruby shared a look. The latter shrugged while the former thought obliviously to herself; Eh, one more question couldn't hurt.

Weiss' heart skipped a beat when Lisa winked directly towards her. It was subtle. No one would be able to see it. No one but her.

The woman regarded Ruby again with a smile that was too professional for her liking. Locking eyes with the young girl, who stared back with total obliviousness, Lisa asked, "So, where did you buy that jacket, Ruby? It looks wonderful on you."

Weiss paled.

It was a bait.

"Oh!" Ruby grinned in that sweet and familiar way. Normally, Weiss would've adored the sight. Now, however... "This isn't mine! Weiss gave it to me when we were in the room together. She's _super_ nice like that! That's why I like her so much!"

It was, obviously, a bait.

And Ruby, being the _dunce_ that she was, had taken it.

* * *

 **Glad to see everyone seems to be taking the news well - the one about this story ending, that is. As I'm writing this, I'm currently working on the _last_ scene of the _last_ chapter... interesting, right? **

**For those of you who are wondering; Yes, I _will_ write a new story, and yes, it _will_ be about Bumblebee. However, unlike this story, the new one will be more structured and planned, and includes a plot that I think you'll enjoy. I'm still working out the overall ****plot line, helped by my dear friend and would-be beta reader FeugoFox42, but I know you guys will love it.**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter, and wish you all good luck in life. I'll see you next week.**


	36. Surprises

**And so it continues~**

 **... I honestly don't know what else to say. So, Ruby goofed up. Weiss is mortified. And Bumblebee is just chillin'.**

 **Ciao~**

* * *

 _ **Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee: CONFIRMED LOVERS?!**_

 _ **"I like her SO MUCH!" Ruby said.**_

 _ **The JUICIEST interview EVER!**_

 _ **OMG FINALLY! XOXO**_

Immediately, Ruby turned off her phone. She couldn't handle the sheer embarrassment of it, and she vocalized it... through wailing.

"You took the bait," uttered her less-than-impressed girlfriend.

Weiss wasn't helping either. In fact, she looked frustrated. At what? Ruby couldn't understand.

"Why didn't you tell me the interview was live?!" she whimpered.

Weiss looked at her with that piercing blue eyes then looked forward, muttering, "Thought you knew."

"Yeah, well, I _didn't_." Ruby sulked. It was a little hard to do so when she and Weiss were in the same cab on her way to her hotel - despite her insisting she could walk there or take the bus. Sometimes she forgot how rich Weiss was. It didn't even look like a normal taxi - it looked like a limo, but shorter, and painted yellow... Either way, it didn't matter! What mattered was "Now everyone thinks we're girlfriends."

Ruby blushed when her girlfriend looked at her with such intense incredulity. She closed the glass pane separating them from the driver before saying, "I was under the impression that we are. Was I wrong?"

Ruby wished her face wasn't as red as it was. She didn't like knowing that Weiss knew how embarrassed she was about all of this. "You know what I mean." She crossed her arms, sulking. No, she was _not_ pouting. She was _sixteen._ Sixteen-year-olds didn't pout. They sulked. Because they were adults. And she was an adult!

Weiss sighed. Not that she cared. "I know." Her face hardened and her blue eyes sharpened. "But it was inevitable. In fact, I think it's best they hear it from one of us than from anyone else."

Ruby couldn't argue with that. "But still..." Couldn't there have been a better way for her relationship to be known by everyone? Blurting out that she 'liked' Weiss on a live TV show wasn't exactly what she'd been expecting.

Plus, all she'd said was that she liked Weiss. Why had everyone thought that meant she viewed Weiss as _more_ than just a friend?! There was more towards 'liking' than just romantically... even if they weren't wrong in thinking that she meant it as a romantic kind of thing...

Ruby took a deep breath and unlocked her phone, eyes catching on each and every new article relating to Weiss Schnee.

It had only been an hour since the interview ended. How were people able to be this fast? It boggled her mind.

"Welcome to the world of fame, Rozē."

Ruby's anger quickly dissipated at both the endearing nickname and the softness that wrapped Weiss' voice.

She looked up at Weiss sheepishly and said, "Sorry."

To which she responded with a soft smile. "I understand. You were worried."

"And, Weiss..." Ruby felt her cheeks warming but still maintained her gaze with the heiress'. With a soft smile, she said, "Thanks for having my back, back at the interview."

She knew that, based on Miss Lisa's expression for when the heiress revealed herself to the camera, it wasn't scripted. Weiss really shouldn't have been there. She could've gotten herself in trouble for doing that... probably. It was fortunate that Miss Lisa was a nice lady.

Weiss blinked rapidly and looked away. Ruby's blush faded while her girlfriend's increased.

"It was nothing," Weiss mumbled. Ruby rolled her eyes. That wasn't true _at all_. "I saw you weren't comfortable, so I-"

"You thought you would make me comfortable." Ruby's grin widened when Weiss looked at her in surprise.

"W-well-"

"Because you _did_ ," Ruby admitted. When the interview first started, she felt so small and vulnerable and... terrified. She knew she shouldn't be, but her heart couldn't stop its rapid beating and her mind couldn't help but think of dark thoughts.

All her discomfort ebbed away when Weiss made her presence known in front of the camera. And Ruby couldn't help but be relieved when the girl gave her a comforting smile for just a moment.

Presently, Weiss was scowling. It would've been effective if not for her red cheeks.

"You're a dolt."

Ruby's eyes sparkled.

"But I'm-"

"You're my dolt." Silver eyes blinked. "Yes, I've heard you say that a _million_ times by now." Ruby pout- sulked. She sulked. And her sulk turned into a brood when Weiss laughed. The ride was filled with a comfortable silence until Weiss spoke again.

"I'm surprised you went through with my lie."

Ruby glanced at her, finding Weiss looking at the window and what was displayed on it - nothing but buildings. She looked at her own window, asking, "You think I can't lie?"

"... Well, you are _you_."

Ruby chuckled and tilted her head towards Weiss, in time to find Weiss herself doing the same. "Can't argue with that."

She grinned goofily. Weiss returned it with a shyer, smaller, yet equally genuine smile.

They arrived at the entrance of her apartment shortly after. Despite Ruby's refusal, Weiss insisted on walking her right to her doorsteps.

After the short, awkward elevator ride, Ruby found herself mumbling, "I wonder what they're doing..."

Apparently, her voice wasn't as quiet as she initially thought - or maybe the hallway was just that noiseless - because her girlfriend wondered, "Who?"

"Blake and Yang." She shrugged when white eyebrows rose. "I sort of asked Blake to... well... basically babysit her."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Weiss questioned when they were nearing her familiar door.

When she was right in front of her door, Ruby made a show of crossing her arms and leaning towards the door.

"Thought you knew."

Ruby wiggled her eyebrows, smirking.

Weiss glared.

Ruby's eyebrow-wiggling increased in speed. Her smirk was replaced by a grin.

"Let's get this over with," groaned her girlfriend as she rolled her eyes.

Ruby snickered before complying, grabbing the door handle before... hesitating.

"Umm... hold on."

She pressed her ear towards the doorframe.

"What are you doing?" asked the baffled heiress.

"I'm just... making sure..." Ruby finished her sentence a little awkwardly, not sure how to proceed.

When she was sure she didn't hear inappropriate noises, Ruby twisted the door handle and pushed. The door didn't open. Ruby frowned, confused.

"You forgot to use the keys, you dolt."

"I know that." Truthfully, she didn't. But she would never admit that to her kinda-cocky partner.

After fishing in her pockets for her key, momentarily horrified by not finding said key, before actually finding it, Ruby unlocked her door, then pushed it open.

The brunette cringed when it creaked loudly, like in those horror movies. She bit her lip at finding the lights to be off.

"Yang? Blake?" she called, slowly walking into her room, cursing at her loud footsteps. She found Weiss tailing behind her with an equally concerned look.

I swear to Dust, Yang, if this is some kind of prank, I'm gonna-

 _BUZZ!_

"Eep!" Ruby threw herself at Weiss out of sheer fear before she could help herself, shutting her eyes in futile hope.

Seconds passed. Nothing happened.

"R-Ruby..."

At her girlfriend's whimper, silver eyes opened. Slowly.

Their noses touched. That was how close they were.

Ruby's breath halted.

Ruby's face went red when she realized what kind of position she was in.

Her arms were tangled around Weiss' neck, and her whole weigh was leaning towards the heiress, who stood awkwardly, trying to balance both her own self and the young girl. Her hands touched Ruby's waist in a ghost-like pressure.

"D-do you mind...?"

It took her a few long seconds before she realized what the heiress had meant. Wordlessly and quickly, she disentangled herself from equally embarrassed - if not, more so - girl.

"S-sorry."

Weiss faked a cough and looked away, covering her mouth with her hands. Ruby's blush increased at the cuteness of the action.

"That's your phone, right?" the heiress asked, eyes still glued to the floor, not wanting to meet her eyes.

"U-um, yeah."

Ruby grabbed her phone from her pocket, squinting when the bright light invaded her unsuspecting eyes. She raised an eyebrow when finding that it was a message from Yang. She clicked on that message.

 _ **Yoooo, Rubes. So i kinda realize that i've been a jerk to you this couple of days so i thought: hey, y not give her the apartment all 2 herself? also, check the fridge ;)) u will luv it**_

It took her a while before the entirety of this message got to her.

She had this whole apartment. To herself.

And Weiss was already _here_ with her.

Slowly, her eyes trailed up. She bit her lip when seeing Weiss, who was looking at her with unmasked interest.

"Say... do you have anything you want to do today?"

A sigh. "... No."

 _Yes!_

* * *

"Did you send Ruby your message?"

Yang gave her the grin Blake had always found endearing and annoying. "Yup!"

The way she'd said it with such confidence - too much confidence, in fact - filled Blake with suspicion.

"What did you tell her?"

"Eh..." The blonde's eyes trailed to the side. An obvious sign of a lie. "Just the truth."

So her girlfriend _didn't_ tell the truth.

"What did you tell her?" Blake repeated a scowl on her face and more force in her tone. By now she of all people should know that when Yang was up to something, the people close to her would get dragged in that 'something' as well.

She wasn't too keen on angering Yang's little sister, especially witnessing firsthand how undeniably scary the young girl could be when she wasn't in her best mood.

"Want me to dramatize it or just the stonecold truth?" Yang offered with a half-apologetic smile.

"The truth." Her glare hardened. Yang actually flinched and bit her lip, looking genuinely scared for a moment before it was replaced by that same cocky smirk.

She leaned back and put her arms behind her head, the action would've succeeded in making her look relaxed if not for the fact that they were on a cab, therefore, making her look more awkward if anything.

"The drama version, then," she said casually, grinning when Blake's glare darkened. After giving a flirty wink that didn't help lift the faunus' moods at all, Yang began her narrating.

"Because yours truly," she said in a mock voice of a theater narrator, even going so far as to use wild hand gestures, "feels guilty of _mildly_ discomforting my sister-"

"Locking her up in a restaurant and lying to her, you mean," Blake corrected with a deadpan.

"- I decided it would be best to surprise her with the best gift of all," continued Yang, unfazed, "the gift of having our apartment all to herself... until yours truly comes back, of course."

Blake's eyes narrowed. "What about the cookies you brought?"

"Eh, didn't want to spoil the surprise."

Blake waited for more words, then gawked when she realized that was all Yang wanted to say. Honestly, why was it that every time the blonde wanted to be mysterious she ended up being more annoying than she already was?

"So?" she coaxed.

"So?" What was worse was the fact that Yang sounded genuinely curious.

Blake gritted her teeth. "So what did you tell her?"

Yang flashed her a smile. "To check her fridge."

Again, Blake waited, thinking there was more to it than that. She blinked when she realized Yang was finished. "That's it?" She paused for a moment, slowly coming to the realization that Yang hadn't made some kind of elaborate scheme that would get them both in trouble. "You just lied to her by telling her you planned to give her some alone time?"

She'd expected something worse. Much worse. This was Yang Xiao Long - the girl who wasn't exactly _known_ for being tame.

Yang cringed a little. "Technically I didn't lie. I have been planning to make it up to her. It just so happens that we're going... somewhere."

Blake smirked. "I guess it isn't a lie when you think about it."

"So... umm... Where are we going?" Yang paused for a moment. "Because you haven't given me, like, any hint and we've been in the cab for... a long time."

"Eh, didn't want to spoil the surprise." It was Yang, for once, who glared.

* * *

"Ruby, no." Weiss made sure her voice was tight with authoritativeness.

Ruby pouted towards her. Immediately, Weiss felt as if she was looking at a nine years old child rather than the sixteen years old teenager that Ruby Rose actually was. "But- but-"

"There is a winking emoticon there," Weiss explained, gesturing to Ruby's phone that was displaying the message that the brute had sent to her little sister. "I barely trust Yang-" that was a lie, she actually didn't at all, "- How can I trust a winking emoticon sent by Yang?!"

"C'mon, Weiss, you're being too harsh on her." The girl in mention squinted her eyes. Literally hours ago, Ruby had given off the impression that she was about to disown Yang. How was it possible that the girl had reverted back into being the defensive about her sister?! "Plus," the brunette mumbled, looking away with a small frown. "Why do you have to call them _emoticon_?..."

One blue eye twitched. "That's not the point," she practically growled out. What was the difference anyway? Emoticon, emoji, they were all the same _overrated_ thing.

Ruby looked back and forth between the fridge, the accursed message being displayed on her phone, and her girlfriend.

After an unnecessarily amount of time passed, the young girl spoke in a whisper, accompanied by a sheepish grin. "I'm still gonna do it."

Weiss said, "No," through gritted teeth.

Ruby was eyeing the fridge. Weiss could see it in her eyes; she was excited about whatever 'gift' her sister had planned for her.

"I'm only trying to protect you, Ruby," she explained.

Ruby, much to her aggravation, raised an eyebrow and asked, "From who? Myself?"

"From her brute of a sister!" she elaborated in a snap. "But you know what, fine, do it for all I care."

Weiss massaged her temples, shutting her eyes. She gave up on convincing her dolt of a partner. Ruby was sweet, but she could be so air-headed at times.

Plus, what harm could it bring? Despite her being... well... Yang, the brute was still Ruby's big sister. Weiss could somehow relate to her protectiveness. So why would she-

A gasp.

Weiss turned to where Ruby was.

"R-Ruby?"

"COOKIES!"

... Why, again, had Weiss fallen in love with such a dolt?

The more important question was; _how_ had she fallen in love with her in the first place?

* * *

 _Where is Blake taking me?_

Yang had been asking this question ever since... well... ever since Blake suddenly invited her to go to 'somewhere they can enjoy themselves'... so, maybe about three hours.

She had a sneaking suspicion, based on a couple of things.

"Are you... taking me to the beach?" she asked.

"Hmm... Can't answer that." Aha! So Blake was taking her to the beach! If she truly wasn't, then she'd reply with a simple "No"! Instead, she hesitated!

"You so are," Yang said, leaning against the doorframe as her eyes squinted. "I saw a couple of palm trees on the way." She turned towards the driver, who had been quiet all this time. "Hey, Driver," she poked a finger to his upper arm, despite Blake's glare of disapproval, "where are we going?"

The driver's head was directly facing the road, being the dutiful driver that he was. His eyes only briefly glanced at Yang, more than a little startled, and he was about to open his mouth and give her the answer she'd been looking for when-

"Don't answer that or your ratings will go down."

Ugh. Blake came in and ruined her chance of finding out. And she did it in a way Yang hadn't thought she was capable of; threats. The driver actually flinched and, later, tensely nodded. She even saw sweat dripping out his forehead. The poor guy.

Yang sighed. Well, it was no use trying to get info out of him now. The dude's too scared to say anything. Damn it.

She turned towards her girlfriend, who was now reading a novel - Yang didn't even know she was bringing one - and asked, "Yaiks, Blake, isn't that a little cruel?"

A noncommittal shrug. "Weiss is rubbing off of me." Ah. That would explain it. "And I've never considered myself to be kind, either."

Yang frowned at that.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Blake. You're tons of kind to me."

Yang blinked when Blake looked at her with shock because, well... what was there to be surprised about? It wasn't like Yang was lying. Blake was nice, it was a common fact. She'd thought that everyone knew... Who knew that, out of everyone, Blake herself was the one to disregard her kindness.

Her thoughts were swept away and was replaced by giddy excitement when she saw the ocean nearing her.

"Are we going swimming?!" she spoke, probably a bit louder than intended, but she couldn't help herself. "You should've told me, Blake!" She pointed an accusatory finger towards Blake, who looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't bring any swimming suits..." She trailed off. Then, her eyes widened and her grin turned into a smirk full of mirth. "Unless... you want me to-"

A hand covering her mouth, turning her next words into nothing more than muffles.

Blake's cheeks were blazing with redness, yet somehow she managed to give her an effective scowl.

"We're _not_ going swimming and we're definitely _not_ alone, so quit it with your dirty jokes." The last words came out as a whispered hiss.

Yang grabbed her delicate hand and planted a soft kiss there.

She didn't think Blake could get any redder. Apparently, she was wrong.

She chuckled, still holding onto her hand. Blake didn't try to let go either.

She leaned forward... and winked. "Pretty sure if words get anywhere, he'll get a bad rating," she suddenly said, sporting a seemingly innocent grin. "Isn't that right, Mister Driver?" she said, turning her head to look at the man who was also blushing.

"Y-yes," he stammered out, much to her delight.

Yang stared at Blake, who was equally embarrassed as she was furious. It was as if she'd forgotten how much of a tease Yang could be.

"Heh."

Yellow eyes narrowed. Blake's hand let go of hers, only to flick her in the forehead.

"You are insufferable."

* * *

"Hey, Weiss?"

The heiress gulped the last of her coffee before putting it down, raising an eyebrow when looking at the cup, impressed by how good it tasted. She never knew Ruby could make good coffee. She never knew Ruby could make coffee period.

She regarded her girlfriend, who sat by her side, fidgeting a little. She was nervous - about what, Weiss didn't know.

"Yes?"

Ruby didn't speak until after a while.

"What'll we do?" The brunette took a deep breath before continuing as if it was painful for her to say her next words. "You know, since you'll be leaving in a week and stuff."

Ah. _That._

Weight settled on her stomach.

"I... don't know," Weiss replied truthfully. She herself was a bundle of uncertainty, just like her girlfriend, if not, more. "People already know about us," she pointed out, then narrowed her eyes. "They've suspected long before we have."

Theories upon theories of Weiss Schnee seeing someone in a romantic way had been building months before the heiress had reunited with Ruby. At the time, Weiss had only dismissed it as her fans being absurd and wanting to gain some form of excitement to try and get rid of their boredom.

These theories exploded when Ruby and Weiss uploaded the video of them singing covers to the internet, which gained massive hits. Her fans had claimed that the mysterious lover had finally revealed herself to. the public.

It was honestly baffling; the fact that her fans had already suspected of Weiss' affection towards Ruby long before she herself did. What was worse was that they were right... eventually.

"We don't keep it a secret, then?"

"No," replied the older girl, shaking her head. "It'll be pointless." But when she sensed the distress and embarrassment aura emanating from her girlfriend, she added as an afterthought, "Unless... you _want_ to?"

Ruby's head shot up as if what she'd suggested was a preposterous idea.

A blush began to grow on the young girl's cheeks as she quietly muttered, "If I were being honest, no, I don't." Weiss blinked at this revelation. Because of the girl's shy nature, she would've expected they try to play it off as some misunderstanding - even if it really wasn't. It appeared she was incorrect. Ruby suddenly grinned and declared a little bashfully, "I want the world to know I'm dating the coolest girl in the world!"

Weiss couldn't fight the smile threatening to break from her lips. This, she realized, was why she'd fallen for Ruby Rose. Amongst many, many more things.

She purposely raised an eyebrow and playfully teased the girl by asking, "Was that supposed to be a pun?"

"... Maybe?" How was it possible that the dolt looked both endearing and irritating?

"You and that brute really are siblings." Weiss groaned in disgust. She could only pray that Ruby. wouldn't grow up to be a perfect carbon copy of Yang Xiao Long. Weiss wasn't able to handle one Yang, how was she able to handle two? Especially when one of them happened to be her girlfriend?

"Hey, she's not all bad," Ruby tried to defend with a small shrug. At least the girl knew Weiss' disgust wasn't completely exaggerated.

Weiss looked at her blankly.

"She locks us up against our wishes. You're lucky I didn't accuse her of kidnapping."

"No, you didn't report her because you like her~" replied Ruby impishly.

Weiss scoffed.

"More like I tolerate her because she's my best friend's girlfriend _and_ my girlfriend's sister."

Ruby frowned. "... Oh yeah, I forgot about that... Wow... That's... complicated."

Weiss couldn't agree more.

* * *

"Blake. We are at the _beach_. You _can't_ seriously tell me we're not going swimming."

The noirette had never heard Yang sound so annoyed. And, even though a part of her did feel a little bad about keeping her girlfriend in the dark for so long... the other part was entertained at the sight of a pouting Yang Xiao Long.

That was right.

Yang Xiao Long. _Pouting._

It was a rare sight to behold. And Blake didn't want to stop seeing it. And to do that, Blake would have to poke fun at the normally laidback girl.

"We're not swimming," she said, shielding her eyes from the sun. They were currently already outside on the open beach. Thankfully, it wasn't crowded as she first feared.

Blake frowned when her shoes drowned a little in the white sand. She'd forgotten about how... annoying sands could be.

She walked, and Yang followed behind her.

"Then what are we doing here?" whined the blonde. "I know being mysterious is your thing and all, but this is getting a little frustrating..." Blake turned her head towards her just so Yang could see her raised eyebrow. Yang quickly crossed her arms, looked away, and mumbled, "Okay, a lot frustrating."

 _... Cute._

But unfortunately, doing this - not telling Yang about her plans - for any longer would be mean, even for her. And so, Blake should tell Yang.

"Remember when we were walking on the street that one time," she started, slowing her pace so she and Yang could walk side-by-side. "I asked you if you were afraid of heights..."

Blake could feel Yang's gaze. She squirmed a little at the intensity of it.

"Yeah. I did. Didn't think you'd remember that." How could she not? It was an amazing walk... there was also lots of kisses.

"I remember plenty," Blake said simply, hoping Yang wasn't going to read too much of it. "That's why I brought us..." she gestured towards what was in front of her, "here."

There were boats. There were people wearing life-jackets. There were surfers.

"... I still don't understand." Of course, she didn't.

Blake chuckled and planted a kiss on her lips. Yang, not expecting such an act, squeaked and blushed after they've broken away, much to her enjoyment.

"My silly Dragon, don't you see?" She cocked her head a little. Her voice was a purr when she said, "We're going to dine."

* * *

 **Umm... yeah, that just happened.**

 **Oh yeah, and Volume 6 is out and I am loving the new episode! There are lots of White Rose fluff and Bumblebee angst~ and I am greedily drinking all of the content like Qrow with his whiskey~**

 **See you all next week, oh, and I hope you have a good day! :D**


	37. Dinners

**I feel like it's wise for me to say (well, write) that the story is ending on Chapter 40. So... we're pretty close on ending this story.**

 **On a side note, can't believe how much White Rose is teased in just two episodes of Volume 6. Like, whoah, I don't think it's about to sail or anything, but... well... _wow._**

* * *

"This is nice."

Amber eyes traveled from the mesmerizing view of the setting sun to the rich dinner placed upon her, before finally, settling in on the beautiful face of Yang Xiao Long, who had a serene, transfixed gaze as she stared into the darkening sky.

Blake, unaware, sighed in blissfulness as she continued ogling her beauty of her girlfriend. "This _really_ is nice."

Lilac eyes shifted to stare into amber. Blake's cheeks heating when she realized what she'd done. Yang said with a grin as smooth as her words, "Why, thank you, Blake. Didn't realize you think I'm, quote-on-quote, _nice_."

Not like it's not true, thought Blake, keeping her lips tight, which served to amuse Yang even more as she broke down into laughter.

"We're supposed to be having dinner, you know." She didn't go through the trouble of calling Coco so suddenly and asked - _maybe_ even pleaded - her to let Blake have her restaurant all to herself only for Yang to laugh at her.

Even now, Blake had to admit she outdid herself. They were sitting on the top floor, which meant they had the best view of both the sunset and Vale. The food was tremendous; there were lots of fishes. And each and every one of them tasted better than the last. Blake might've eaten more than Yang, which was an impressive feat, judging by how hungry the blonde could be.

"Yeah, I know," Yang said, waving her spoon which, luckily, didn't sport any food. "But the number one rule for dinner that you gotta bring something _explosive_ to the table." At Blake's bewildered expression, she added, "At least, in my house."

"... Sometimes I wonder how you've survived for this long," Blake muttered loudly enough for her girlfriend to hear.

Yang reacted accordingly. By pouting.

"You don't give me enough credit," she said.

"I give you more credit than necessary," Blake responded.

Yang hummed before nodding in agreement. "True." The nonchalance of her act causing Blake to smile.

But then a thought lingered in her mind. Not a particularly bad one, yet also not what she would call thrilling.

The sun was nowhere to be seen. The sky had been painted blue. Stars began to appear, as was the calming moon.

The lightness of the situation disappeared as slowly as the sun did.

Yang was watching her. With her cheerful attitude, sometimes Blake forgot how eerily observant the blonde could be. Sure, she wasn't academically gifted, but she did have the gift of easily reading people. Lying to her was impossible. Keeping things from her moreso.

Earlier this day, Yang hadn't pried too much. Sure, she kept making guesses of where they were going, but she only asked Blake once and that was it. The blonde sensed either Blake would tell her or she'd find out herself. And, above all, Yang had trusted Blake. She trusted her enough to wait for her to speak all those hours ago.

And right now, Yang was doing the exact same thing.

Not for the first time, Blake wondered how she'd come across such a kind soul.

A part of her, a part that was undeniably selfish, wished for her not to bring it up. It wanted her to enjoy the peaceful, quiet night, and pretend as if nothing was bothering her.

But another part, the part that she sometimes hated, knew how foolish, reckless, not to mention wrong that would be.

Yang trusted her. By not speaking, Blake would be breaking that trust.

And Blake trusted her enough to want to speak to her about it.

But most importantly, she wanted to get it off her chest. It had to be now, or else Blake would never want to talk to her about it.

"Hey... Yang?"

The blonde didn't answer her, not verbally. She gave a slight nod, and her mouth thinned. She knew she didn't have to say anything else. Blake knew too.

When Blake's eyes found hers, she was momentarily taken aback by the sheer rawness of those lilac gems. In broad daylight, they seemed to shed a light that rivaled the sun. But here and now, in the calm presence of the moon, those eyes were filled with such depth. Blake could easily get lost in those eyes, wondering what secrets they held beneath it.

Blake bit her lip. She was hesitant to tell her girlfriend. But this was something she knew she had to do, whether she wanted to do it or not. "I've been... wanting to do this thing for... a while." Truthfully, not even she knew the exact time she'd had this growing feeling. For all she knew, it could've been days. For all she knew, it could've been months. "I didn't really think of it much. But, it... grew on me. It's-" she paused for a moment, before sighing out, "It's a decision that'll impact everyone's lives."

She wished she could say that was an over-exaggeration.

"Blake?"

Blake did not answer her lover's call. Instead, she closed her eyes and braced herself, for both her own words and whatever would come next.

"I want to quit the band."

* * *

"This is anything _but_ nice."

Ruby blinked at Weiss' words, then frowned, feeling more than a little insulted. "Hey! I'll have you know this is the _perfect_ dinner!"

Weiss was unbothered by her reaction. She briefly looked down at the amazing and delicious meal Ruby had prepared for her before stating, "Unless Remnant's gone mad, I assure you, Ruby, cookies are _not_ nice for dinner."

"Cookies are nice for dinner!" After a small pause, she added, "Cookies are nice, period!" It didn't matter if she had it for dinner, lunch, or even breakfast! "Plus, Yang's brought it for me, do you want it to go to waste?" She unleashed her greatest weapon which worked every time! Her puppy eyes!

Weiss' eye twitched when she saw it. "No."

What?! How could her puppy eyes not work?! Fine. Weiss forced her to unleash her secret weapon which was _even better_ than the greatest weapon! Puppy eyes and the occasional sniff!

Weiss gritted her teeth and took a sharp intake of breath. "No."

Ruby's resolve broke. "But- but- how?!" she wondered. "Everyone always falls for it! Everyone!" she emphasized.

Weiss looked proud of herself. She should be. What she'd done was an impossible mission. "I guess I'm immune to your cuteness."

Ruby gaped at the mere prospect of it.

She and Weiss had a stare-off before the heiress suddenly rolled her eyes and said, "Fine, we can have cookies." Ruby perked up. "But we'll have them as _dessert._ Not the main course." Ruby perked back down.

"... Fine," she eventually said. It was a fair deal. So long as she would end up eating her precious cookies, Ruby wouldn't complain.

In the end, they settled for spaghetti - since Ruby's fridge was mostly empty, and she had to convince Weiss that it wasn't poisoned for four whole minutes before the singer reluctantly took a bite... and immediately loved it.

Huh. Who knew Weiss would love spaghetti?

Even now, Weiss was almost finished with her meal while Ruby was still half-way. Ruby was beginning to worry that her girlfriend would somehow choke on her noodly food.

Another aspect that intrigued Ruby was how Weiss behaved as she ate. Her posture was perfect. The way she held her fork and spoon was perfect. Everything about the way she ate was so... perfectly formal. Which was silly considering the fact that she was eating spaghetti.

 _Oh, Weiss. What am I gonna do with you?_

* * *

It took Blake all of her restraints not to do what she'd always wanted to do in these kinds of situations; run.

She couldn't run. She shouldn't.

It would be wrong on too many levels to do so.

Blake had brought the topic up, she should be here to stick with it and not leave Yang alone in the dark.

The silence was suffocating.

Blake normally enjoyed the silence. Silence normally meant peace. But this time... it didn't mean that. This time, the silence spoke of the unknown. And it scared Blake.

Eventually, Yang spoke. And when she did so, Blake was appalled at the weight that carried on with her words.

"Why would you do that, Blake?"

Blake studied her girlfriend.

The girl in front of her was not the same one she usually saw. She wasn't a carefree girl who went through life with a cocky smile and some jokes.

The girl in front of her wasn't the Yang Xiao Long Blake was familiar with, but she was still Yang Xiao Long.

The girl in front of her was the side of Yang Xiao Long that the blonde herself wouldn't let many people see.

This was the side of Yang Xiao Long that Yang Xiao Long tried to hide.

Blake's gaze traveled down. It would be unwise to speak anything other than the truth.

Surprisingly, words came to her very easily. Maybe it was that that they were alone. Maybe it was that she knew Yang wouldn't try to hurt her in any way.

"Because, well... I'm tired of this." She frowned before saying, "Well, tired isn't exactly the right word. More like... _finished_." Yes. That sounded better. "I want to try new things, Yang. I... don't want to keep doing this forever. As much as I want to."

She found herself unable to speak more. Unwilling to. She'd said all she thought was needed to be said, and that was it. All she could do now was wait for a response.

And a response did come, after a time that felt far too long for her.

"Won't you miss them?"

Blake's answer was practically a reflex. "Wha-? Of course!" Her eyes widened when she realized how loud she'd yelled. Yang didn't seem too bothered by her outburst, if anything, she looked like she'd been expecting it. Blake cleared her throat before speaking in a calmer, quieter tone. "Of course, I'll miss them, Yang. They're my family."

There was no hesitation. No doubt. There might've been once, back before Blake cowered at the idea of trusting someone and letting someone trust her. But now... now she was sure of one thing; she loved Hunters and Huntresses, and breaking apart from them would be one of the most painful things she would do.

"Blake... are you sure about this?"

Her mouth moved on its own.

"No… I'm not. But that doesn't mean I want to be like this forever."

Being out there, in front of all those people and cameras, doing what she'd always loved doing... It sent a warm feeling in her chest and made her smile. But she also knew it wasn't something she envisioned doing for a long while. It wasn't how she wanted her future to be.

She already had an ideal future, after all. A calmer one. A more peaceful one. One where she spent her days with a certain someone special to her.

And that someone was Yang.

Blake didn't say it, she had a suspicion she didn't need to for Yang to understand her; she wanted to be with Yang. And she knew that to do that, she must give up the life she was currently living in. The life of fame.

Blake knew Yang understood it as well. It was written all over her face. It was shown in those lilac eyes.

For the first time in a while, she truly was lost.

The moon shone brighter. There was a breeze, and Yang ran a hand through her waving, glowing hair.

"Blake..." Her voice was raw. So very raw. With Blake's feline ears, she was able to hear her taking an intake of breath. "I know you want to do this, it's pretty obvious you've thought this through." She managed a small nod. "But... I don't think you want to quit... not right now." The last part was spoken slowly.

Blake's eyes widened.

The breeze stopped, and all stilled. The wisps of breath and the rustles of grass were what filled the silence for a time.

"I think you still want to hang out and play music with the rest of them. You still want to be up on the stage, you still want to show the world what you can do..."

Yang ducked her head ever so slightly, and her eyes seemed to gleam this warmth as she looked up to Blake. She had this small, gentle smile painting her lips.

"Am I wrong?"

* * *

Weiss watched as Ruby strummed and plucked her strings with such delicacy - handling her instrument with the precision of a master.

She, too, wielded her voice, not unlike a knight who hit the many beasts blocking its way. Only, they were notes which she hit, and she hit each of them graciously.

They were playing a song that was originally supposed to fit the jazz genre, but the brunette made a brilliant idea to add a more orchestral theme to it. At first, Weiss wondered how they were going to manage to combine something as bizarre as jazz with orchestra - of all things, but somehow, they were able to do so. And quite _amazingly_ , she might add.

Weiss' eyes narrowed when she saw bits of cookie crumbs scattered in Ruby's lips. And, without pausing from her singing, she slowly paced towards the brunette, leaned in, and wiped the crumb off of her cute face.

Weiss was suddenly aware of how close she was with Ruby. She was also aware of the gaze Ruby was sending her - one that was filled with a strong desire. Weiss' cheeks heated when she realized that desire was aimed towards her.

Ruby didn't stop playing as she leaned into her, but she had to stop singing when their lips met. The angle was a bit awkward since Ruby's guitar was blocking them apart, but somehow... they made it work.

Weiss smirked a little when the guitar let out a wilder, less clean melody. It was by no means bad.

The music increased its intensity even more when Weiss put her hands on Ruby's collar to deepen the kiss. As it went on, Ruby played in a more and more abrasive yet the tune was still endearing to listen to.

Ruby strummed in a low note when they broke apart. She was panting moreso than Weiss. The heiress smirked. All of those breathing exercises from her singing lessons finally paid off.

Weiss looked at Ruby.

Her girlfriend had talent like no other. While others played music, she created them. Others followed the guidelines and rules of the song, Ruby was able to break and perfected them all at once.

There was no other way than to describe Ruby as a musical genius.

And... Weiss had never seen one before. The musicians that trained her back when she lived in that sad excuse of a house were those who relied on structures and theories. They never seemed truly passionate about the music itself and was adamant in teaching her about anything but.

Ruby was... great at what she did, and that was putting it mildly...

Weiss would leave in more or less a week, and wouldn't be able to see her again in who knew how long...

"Join us."

It took her a few long seconds for Weiss to realize what she'd just offered.

* * *

Yang smiled when Blake didn't answer her. She had a feeling the faunus didn't have an answer.

Knowing her girlfriend wouldn't speak any time soon, Yang took the chance to do so herself. "I've seen your face whenever you're on a concert." What kind of fan would she be if she _hadn't_ done so? "It never changes. You look so happy up there, Blake. Happier than you were with me." She shrugged when Blake gave her a perplexed look. She wasn't lying. The fact didn't hurt her as well, it actually helped her argument.

Yang began to worry when Blake remained quiet, sporting this odd stare, so the blonde tried to reassure her. "Hey, it's okay, Blake..." That was all she had to offer, because really, what else was there to say? Yang herself was still processing this new information. She'd suspected something was bothering Blake for a while now, even when the girl tried to hide it, but she didn't think it would be this kind of issue.

Suddenly, Blake smiled and shook her head. There was still doubt and fear and many more similar plaguing emotions sticking in her eyes, but there was a hint of amusement in them too.

"I thought you, of all people, would agree with me." The ghost of a smile gracing Yang's lips was swept away. "With how hard it is for us to see each other. With how much we want 'us' to keep going."

"It's not like I won't be bummed out when you leave," Yang said, consciously rubbing her neck. She locked her eyes with Blake as she said, "I'm not gonna lie to you, a part of me wants you to just... abandon your music gig and..." her cheeks blushed, "come... be with me... _somehow_." Her voice quietened more and more before they finally trailed off in uncertainty.

"Then why?" Blake asked after another tense silence.

It pained Yang to see how succumbed the girl looked, so she bit her lip before answering, gathering her loose, lost thoughts and hoping her answer would ease her lost girlfriend, even when she herself was lost.

"Because you don't really want to do it," Yang offered. "Not right now," she added. "And it would've been selfish for me to encourage you to stop doing what you enjoy just so we can be together. Plus, Ice Queen, Neptune, Sun; how do you think they're gonna feel?" At Blake's crestfallen expression, Yang hastily said, "It's not that they'll hate you for it- they'll support you, I know they will. But this isn't what you want, Blake. We both know it."

Blake grinned fondly at her. "Every member hates you-" Yang begged to differ. If she wasn't mistaken, Neptune _at least_ didn't think of her as a threat, "-and yet you worry for them."

"Eh," she gave her signature careless shrug. "I mean, I did _lock_ the princess up, so it's no wonder she wants to mutilate me."

Blake's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "And Sun?"

Yang shrugged again, not out of carelessness, rather, out of actual cluelessness. "I seem to be growing on him, I think." At Blake's incredulous stare, she raised both hands. "Hey, you really can't expect him to suddenly like me, do you?"

"But he's just so..." Blake's brows furrowed. "Mean to you... It's so out-of-place for him- he's usually such a-"

"Sunny guy?" Yang couldn't help but offer. She was rewarded by a deadpan stare.

The grumpy stare didn't last long, however. "... Either way, I can't understand why he's like that."

Yang could.

Sun acted towards her how she used to act to a lot of boys who would try to woo her sister away from her. Boys she didn't know. Boys she feared would break her little sister's heart.

Yang understood him perfectly well.

"Leave him be. I'm sure he'll come around," Yang assured her, placing her hand atop of Blake's, squeezing slightly.

Blake briefly looked up at Yang before turning away again. She squeezed back. "I hope so," she muttered.

* * *

 **The difference between how the scenes with Bumblebee start in contrast with White Rose is supposed to** **emphasise how different their relationship are. I've always considered Yang and Blake to be one of those chill couples who are past arguing and are automatically in-synch with one another. Meanwhile, White Rose is the kind of couple who always want to do things differently, and so one of them would eventually give in and do what the other wants. I thought it'd be clever to _show_ their difference with how each couple interacted with one another.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. See you all next week~**


	38. All Wrapped Up

**Hey guys, after this chapter, there'll be two more chapters, and then... it'll be over.**

 **Just a heads up, you know. And, like I said before, that doesn't mean I'll stop writing entirely. In fact, I've been working on this Bumblebee story for quite a while now. I'm sure you'll love it! I plan to finish the whole story so I can really polish each chapter and consistently upload it. It's going to be filled with lots of action, as well as romance.**

 **So, umm... enjoy!**

* * *

 _... 'Join us'?_

What the heck did that mean? It sounded like Weiss was talking about a cult or something. Wait- maybe she _was!_ Maybe Weiss had been in a cult this whole time! Maybe that was why she was insanely gorgeous! It was because she used spells and stuff to make herself look so perfect!

"Ruby?"

The girl in mention blinked. She'd spaced out, it seemed. "Huh? What?"

Ruby felt guilty when Weiss looked hurt, but then that look was replaced by hesitation, fear, but also... belief. A great sense of belief. "Join my band."

 _Oh, she means join her BAND, not her cult. Ow, wow, for a second there I was-_

"Wait, WHAT?!"

Ruby almost dropped her guitar, and it was only because of her love for her precious baby that she didn't do so. But she came close, and _that_ was worth noting.

"You don't have to scream, you know," Weiss said, trying to be chastising. It would've worked if not for the red blush spreading all over her cheeks, making her look younger and vulnerable.

Ruby gulped. She was sure her own cheeks were as red as her name. "I... What?" she was only able to say.

Truthfully, she still wasn't sure if she heard those words correctly.

In fact, she was convinced this was all a dream because _why else would my girlfriend suddenly ask me this out of the blue!?_

"Join my band, Ruby."

Yeah.

That.

Ruby's eyes shifted to the side as a thought made its way into her head, a less-than-happy thought.

 _Why me? I'm just your average teenage girl who happens to be good at what I do._

"Why, Weiss?" was all she managed to ask, forcing herself to look at her girlfriend.

Weiss bit her lip and timidly looked away, rubbing her arm tenderly.

"I didn't mean we should do it right now, that would be insane, especially after we've told everyone how you _weren't_ one of us. I..." Her jaw tightened, and she snapped her head towards Ruby. The strength in those bright blue eyes startled the brunette. "You felt it too, right? When we were up in that stage, when people cheered your name; the rush of it all. You loved it and you miss it."

Ruby didn't say anything. She didn't deny her words. How could she deny the truth, after all?

"I do too, Ruby. Up there, we were invincible," Weiss said with a rather large smile. Seeing it made her smile as well, although her own smile was a softer one. "I want to be able to experience that kind of rush every time I'm on a stage. I know the others would want to as well." Weiss took one step towards her. "I know you do too."

"... I do."

Weiss grasped her forearms, clinging to it, yet not putting enough pressure for them to hurt. "Then be with us. Be with me." At that last part, it was like someone punched her in the chest with a shotgun-gauntlet. There was no other way to describe it.

"Weiss... you know I can't."

* * *

Despite her strong words earlier, Blake knew Yang was unhappy.

The faunus couldn't blame her. She herself wasn't thrilled as well.

The very idea of separating from each other when they had _just_ reunited didn't bode well with her. Especially after all the longing and pain she'd felt in those six months they were apart, to know that she would feel those things in the near future was a thought she didn't _dare_ entertain.

And yet Blake knew it would be a better choice for both of them if they were to do so. After all, to continue to stay together… it would have consequences. Consequences that they should _not_ take, no matter how much they wanted to.

Suddenly, Blake spotted _it._

Hidden beneath the curtains - a shape she was all but familiar with.

Blake stood up. Yang looked at her quizzically but didn't say anything. She gave the blonde a smile to reassure her that she wasn't going anywhere.

She walked towards _it_ and drew open the curtains, revealing what she'd suspected; a bass. _Her_ bass.

"How did-?" It appeared even Yang knew this was her bass as well and was wondering the same question she was.

Blake rolled her eyes. This must be Coco and, perhaps, Velvet.

Who else would want to go so far as to somehow get Blake's instrument and took it here without she herself noticing.

How she was able to pull this off was beyond the noirette, but she found herself not caring about it much when an idea struck her.

Without a word, Blake grabbed her instrument with ease, taking a moment to look at it closely and confirm that it was, indeed, her bass and not just an accurate replica of it. She strode towards Yang, whose confusion increased tenfold.

Blake made herself comfortable, sitting in a nearby small couch, which was, admittedly, a little hard to do. She then patted towards the empty spot and looked at Yang expectantly.

Yang rose an eyebrow but complied to her wishes, trusting that her girlfriend wouldn't do anything weird.

Blake held her instrument and sat face-to-face with her girlfriend.

"What are you doing?" came the expected question.

Blake flashed her a smirk. "I thought it'd be obvious by now," she muttered, surprising her girlfriend with a quick peck on the lips, electing an adorable blush in return. Her fingers danced across the metal strings as she placed them in specific spots.

"I'm giving you a personal concert."

And then she played.

* * *

Rich blue stared into shimmering silver, each of them holding their own intensity, both of them showing a conflicting mess of emotions.

It was she who spoke first.

"Why, Ruby? Why can't you?"

The brunette's gaze hardened. "Because-" Her eyes suddenly widened. She then took a deep breath, her shoulders slackening and the gaze in her eyes softening. "Weiss..."

The way she'd spoken her name... It made her heart skip a beat.

Weiss took a step forward.

"Because of what?" she asked - no, demanded.

She'd seen what Blake had to go through when apart from Yang.

Being able to see her partner's voice, being able to hear her words... But not being able to touch them? Not being able to feel their warmth?

It saddened Weiss to no end and the fact that she'd be going through the same ordeal as them. She... didn't think she'd be able to handle it - not seeing Ruby face-to-face. Only equipped to see her through the small screen of her phone.

Weiss didn't _want_ that.

And she knew Ruby would never want that as well.

So why...?

Why did Ruby not accept her offer? The offer that would guarantee _many_ things for the brunette - being together was just one of the many. The offer that many, if not, all aspiring musicians dreamt of.

... Why was Ruby denying the golden opportunity?

And suddenly Weiss was tasting something she liked.

She soon found it was Ruby's lips.

Weiss realized, with red cheeks, that the most reasonable thing to do when someone she had feelings for was kissing you was, of course, to kiss that someone back.

And so she reciprocated.

The kiss was sweet. Very sweet.

Weiss wrapped her arms around the younger girl's waist, while Ruby's hands gently held her cheeks in an attempt to deepen the kiss.

Her worries melted, alongside many other things that burdened her.

When they broke off, Weiss only half-remembered what they'd been arguing about.

Ruby caressed her white locks, her touch softer than feathers. Weiss leaned into her, a smile of content gracing her lips. Looking up, she found the brunette giving her a tender smile as well.

"I'm not ready to be like you, Weiss," the brunette said. Weiss' smile faltered a little, but hers stayed as strong and as gentle. "Don't get me wrong, Weiss, I really did love it when I'm up there. Especially with you." There was a small pause. Ruby's soothing fingers stopped in their tracks. She looked down. "I have this life. And I want to live it first." Distressed silver met shocked blue. " _Please_ understand, Weiss."

Ruby looked so small. And so fragile.

Weiss only realize it now; she was hurting the poor girl.

Of course Ruby wasn't ready- the heiress had known all along. She was never comfortable with the fame and had asked her so many times to make people understand that she was "just her" before she finally relented.

Ruby wasn't ready for this, as much as she wanted to be.

The least Weiss could do was respect her wishes.

After a shaky sigh, she spoke. "I do, Ruby. Of course, I do." She shook her head and looked down, feeling more than a little guilty. "I'm sorry for forcing you."

"Eh," Ruby gave her a shrug, "it's no biggie." Weiss raised an eyebrow, knowing how false the statement was. The brunette blinked then smiled sheepishly. "Okay, fine, I know you didn't mean it, Weiss." The sheepish smile turned into one of confidence. "You'd never hurt me on purpose."

Well... it was safe to say Weiss' heart soared.

Goodness, sometimes she'd forgotten how easily the girl could fluster her. And what was worse was that Ruby didn't even seem to realize what she was doing - she, unlike her sister, never intentionally flirted towards her. She just said things the way they were.

"Plus, who knows, maybe one day I will actually join your band."

The very thought of it pulled her lips into a genuine smile.

She knew that wouldn't happen now. It might not even happen soon, but... "One day..." It might just happen.

"Yeah. That'd be nice." That was an understatement, but Weiss felt it was unimportant to point it out.

"Indeed." That would be very nice. The future couldn't be that far away, now, could it?

* * *

Yang was frozen. Not in fear. Not in shock. But in... something beyond those. Something _more._

She'd seen Blake played more times than she could ever hope to count. She'd seen her play through the screen of her phone. She'd seen her play one or two times in-person.

But never up close.

Not until now.

It wasn't something that could easily be described. In fact, Yang doubted it could even be described perfectly at all.

The sound brought... a mix of emotions in Yang she hadn't felt before.

There was a kind of calmness that wrapped everything around them as the beautiful noirette played. One of a kind atmosphere that had 'Blake Belladonna' written all around them.

And then Blake started playing in higher notes and at a faster pace.

Yang's jaw dropped.

This was... music at its rawest form.

This was better than any concert she'd been in. Far better.

It was hard for Yang to try and describe it all... so she didn't and chose the wisest decision, which was to simply listen.

She listened as Blake plucked each string with different strength; different length; different meaning.

The music almost seemed to be... speaking. Saying something.

Yang let her eyes close in order to fully immerse herself into these beautiful notes.

The sound carried her to a beautiful place.

A place she'd always dreamed of.

A dream she wished would one day be a reality.

"Do you ever imagine the future?" a voice asked. A voice that was Blake's. A voice that did not come from the woman in front of her.

She answered: Yes. Yes, she had.

"What future do you imagine?" the voice asked again.

She... didn't know...

'Good' didn't do it justice.

Neither did 'Great', or even 'Perfect'. It was... much more...

Yang was inside a house.

"Is it a big house?"

It didn't matter.

"Then, what does?"

"Who's in that house," she heard herself saying.

... It was Blake.

She was in the house.

They both were.

And... it wasn't really a house...

It was more of a home.

And suddenly, the music ended.

Yang opened her eyes as she was brought back to reality.

Amber eyes were inches away from her own eyes, showing nothing but concern and care.

A pale hand dusted off something wet trailing down her cheek.

"Why are you crying?"

* * *

It wasn't often that Blake played like this.

Being in a band and having to adjust her way of playing with others, and generally busy with many other things, she didn't have much time to simply...

Play. Alone. In a way that she wanted - not the way that would be best for everyone. Hitting notes that she felt was appropriate - not what Glynda wanted her to hit.

She... missed this.

She missed the simpler, older days where she wasn't filled with such responsibilities. Where she wasn't Blake Belladonna, bass player of Hunters and Huntresses. Where she was just... Blake, a girl who happened to be able to play an instrument.

Blake generally wasn't good at speaking.

Despite wanting to say so many things, words just wouldn't come out of her mouth the way she wanted to. It was ironic because of

Try as she might, but words just weren't something she wasn't good at.

Which was why she loved music.

With music, she didn't need to speak each word - she just had to play and let the music speak for her. The notes she played spoke in a way words never could.

Sometimes her music even spoke about things she herself would never think to speak.

Thoughts and emotions that were always so hard to convey easily shone through the melody.

Things that were always so hard for her to understand easily flowed through the strings.

Feelings she didn't know she had were expressed through music.

And suddenly...

It came to her like the morning sun, peeking out from the horizon, chasing away all darkness.

 _I love her._

She opened her eyes, letting out a soft gasp.

"Why are you crying?" she asked in a murmur to the girl in front of her, her hand instinctively brushing the trails of tears on her cheek, her brows creasing in worry.

Yang blinked, then touched her own cheek, as if she didn't know she'd been shedding tears. "Oh... it's... it's just..." Blake's ears perked down at the waver in her voice. Yang gave her a smile. It was similar to her normal ones - the difference was... those smiles were genuine. This was not. "Your music is so great, Blake!" she cheered, despite her lips trembling a bit. "Sometimes I wonder why you don't just go solo."

It was obvious as day; Yang was trying not to cry, trying to keep strong for both of their sake, trying to make her happy like always.

Blake felt a pang of pain shot through her, like an arrow to her chest.

Yang... had always been there for her. In more ways than anyone could imagine.

She was the one who brought something special to Blake's mundane evening when she first showed up - she showed Blake a kindness unlike any other, treated her like royalty, like someone who deserved to be treated the way she did.

She even went as far as to bring Blake her favorite drink; tea.

Meanwhile, other fans wouldn't have brought her anything. Some even demanded she gave them something.

As if that wasn't enough, Yang showed her even more of what she thought she didn't need as they spend more time together.

And before she knew it, Blake was falling for the girl.

More tears fell from Yang's face.

Blake's eyes slightly narrowed in an unbreakable determination; she pulled the girl into an embrace right after she gently put down her bass on the floor.

Yang's muscles stiffen, but Blake could still feel her trembles as she rested her chin on the blonde's shoulder.

"B-Blake, it's fine, I'm fine."

Clearly, Yang was anything but.

Even a fool would know those were words of lies.

"Talk to me."

Yang trembled even more. Blake didn't say anything - she trusted Yang would talk when she was ready. After a few long seconds, she took a deep breath and the shaking stopped, the girl's muscles loosening. Her arms hung limply at her side, swaying slightly.

Blake didn't need to look at her to know the tiny trickles of water dripping down onto her arm were her girlfriend's tears.

"Blake... I... I don't think I want to do this..." Blake wanted to ask Yang what she meant by that. A part of her feared that by 'this', Yang was referring to their relationship; to them. But she did nothing but hold the girl even tighter.

Yang had done so much for Blake. It was time Blake did something in return.

Yang had been strong all this time. It was time to let Blake be strong for her - for a change.

It was time for Yang to be weak. It was time for Yang to let Blake hold her the way she held Blake.

It was time for Yang to... just... cry.

And Blake would hold her. She would continue to hold her until Yang could stand on her own again. However long it took, she'd wait.

Just as Yang had waited for her.

Yang didn't make a sound as she cried. No wails, no sniffles. The only indication that she even was crying was the wetness that kept dripping down onto Blake's shoulder, not that she minded.

"Blake, I..." a voice came, softer and shakier than it usually was due to all the tears. "I'm okay... I'm okay now..." Yang clearly wasn't, but there was an unspoken request for Blake to let her go. So, very reluctantly, she pulled away, slowly.

Yang still looked worse for wear. What made it all the more heartbreaking was how hard she was trying to smile and act happy, all for Blake.

Blake wanted her to feel a little better, so she gave the girl a quick peck on the lips. Yang must not have been expecting it, because she became rather flustered - trailing her gaze away and biting her cheek. It was a cute sight to see, despite the puffy eyes and wet cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Blake," she began. "I didn't mean-"

Her words were cut off because of the finger silencing her lips.

"I don't need to know why," Blake said.

Yang's head backed away from the offending hand, frowning. "But I-"

And the finger returned.

Blake adorned an exasperated scowl. "Can't I just comfort my own girlfriend for a change?"

The blonde's eyes widened in surprise before she smirked a little. "Jeez, Blake. Who knew you could be so overprotective."

In return, the faunus rolled her eyes.

"Well, I tend to do that to the people I love."

Both of their eyes widened.

* * *

Weiss rose an eyebrow when the dolt's phone buzzed. Who could be messaging _her_ at a time like _this?_

Seeing as how Ruby was busy working with the strings of her guitar - something about them becoming rusty - Weiss moved to answer it.

"Eh, leave it."

Weiss' eyes narrowed in a disagreement. Then, her eyebrow rose even higher when she heard it buzz again. Two messages. They could probably be important.

"No, they aren't."

Her head snapped back to her girlfriend as she dropped her jaw. "How did you-?" She couldn't even form proper words.

Ruby just laughed - and, wow, was it an adorable laugh - and shook her head. "I'm your girlfriend, silly. Of course I know what you're thinking." She gently put away her guitar as Weiss contemplated with her statement. When the heiress saw the girl's phone buzzing again, she couldn't help but try to reach out, only to squeak when the brunette caught her wrist.

Before the younger girl could say anything, Weiss spoke. "What if it's important?" She was always taught never to ignore calls in the off-chance of it being some kind of emergency.

Ruby tilted her head to the side. "But it's not, though."

One blue eye twitched. "How do you know that?"

Her girlfriend gave a shrug. "I just do." Weiss opened her mouth, but her girlfriend beat her to it. "Don't be such a worry-wart." The heiress frowned at the nickname and opened her mouth again... only for her girlfriend to beat her to it... again. "Just relax for a change, will ya?"

Weiss eyed her girlfriend, saw the pleading silver eyes, and nodded, even if she was maybe a little reluctant to the idea. Still, she had to ask. "Why are you like this?"

A chuckle was Ruby's first answer. "Like what? Awesome?" Weiss rolled her eyes, but not without a smaller, more hidden smile of her own. "It's just..." the girl's tone softened. She sounded more fragile. "After you leave, I won't really get to be as close to you as I am now..."

And suddenly, it all clicked for Weiss.

 _Oh._

 _Ruby..._

Without much thinking, Weiss pulled the girl in for a kiss, hoping the actions would convey what words could never.

How could she have been so blind?

Ruby was... Ruby had been worried. All this time. Worried because she wouldn't be able to see much of her again. And... she was trying to mask it- to keep it all under wraps. All for her. Even when it was hurting Ruby herself.

The kiss ended, and Ruby was, for once, more flushed than she was due to the surprise.

Weiss spoke first.

"Dolt."

It... wasn't what she meant to say, but it happened to be what came out of her mouth.

For a brief second, she was terrified Ruby would be hurt, but instead, the exact opposite happened.

There was the surprise first, as those silver eyes widened. The surprise turned into confusion as brown eyebrows furrowed before finally turning into joy as snickers broke from her lips.

"Really, Weiss?" she asked. "Can't you come up with something more original?"

Weiss' face went redder than her girlfriend's name. Both the first and the last.

"W-well, it is the truth!" she tried to rebut, which resulted in a louder round of giggles, much to her displeasure. She poked her girlfriend in the shoulder, though not hard enough for it to cause any real pain. "Quit it!" she ordered.

Ruby kept on laughing. So she brooded. No. She was not pouting. She was brooding. There was a difference. A big difference.

When Ruby's eyes met hers again, Weiss found herself speechless to see such warmth, adoration and many more she simply couldn't place.

And as she regained her composure, Weiss became speechless again, though this time, it was not because she was caught off guard by how much feelings Ruby was displaying towards her by looking at her...

It was because she was caught off guard by how much feelings Ruby was displaying towards her by _kissing her._

And, again, she regained her composure, and did the most logical and rational thing anyone would do; kiss back, even as the phone buzzed one last time, indicating that Ruby had three unread messages.

* * *

It took a while before Yang was finally able to speak.

"Blake?"

The woman in front of her started a little but otherwise remained motionless. Wordless.

Yang was terrified.

She was terrified for many reasons. But the most prominent one was… she was afraid this was all just some kind of joke. A prank Blake was trying to pull. Every part of her told her Blake would never do such a thing, but she couldn't help but wonder.

Seconds ticked by, each of them felt like a century.

"Please, say something..." she croaked. She'd never felt so vulnerable. So helpless. So… fragile.

She saw thousands of different emotions flickering in those gorgeous eyes that reminded her of the golden sunrise. Yang was too afraid to try to find out what they were.

She feared she would find humor in those eyes.

She feared she would find regret.

But mostly…

She feared she would find love in the eyes of her girlfriend.

A love that was directed towards her.

So Yang shut her eyes, biting her lip. It was cowardly of her, but she couldn't find herself caring at this point.

The silence taunted her. It slowly crept towards her, making her feel so cold and so numb.

"Please…" she begged, one last time.

The wind whispered harshly, making her hair flow to the side, partly covering her face.

The sky was dark despite the moon and star's efforts to brighten it.

"I... It's true, Yang."

Lilac eyes opened as a glimmer of hope began to shine upon her. Yet she couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Blake kept talking. Her head was tilted down, and her bangs covered her face. That comforted Yang a little - not knowing how Blake looked, not knowing how she felt. Yet at the same time, it petrified her.

"I think I- No. I know that…" Time slowed down as Blake's eyes found hers. The eyes that used to hold so many mysteries were now open and vulnerable. "I love you."

Yang's heartbeat was all she could hear for a long while, partly because of how loud it was, though also because of the silence that followed.

Her eyes were wide. So were Blake's.

Her lips were parted. Blake's were tightened together.

Yang was a lot of things. Ecstatic. Afraid. Glad. Shocked.

Blake was all of those things too.

Yang stayed silent. Blake didn't.

"I've never felt this way towards anyone. Except you." Dark brows creased. "I think I have loved you for a long time, but…" amber eyes coyly looked up. "I just didn't realize that what I was feeling towards you was love." There was a short pause. "Not until now."

Yang kept looking at her as her mind continued to do nothing but think. Her thoughts were too many for her to comprehend, like a static. She didn't know what to do. What to say.

"Yang?"

Blake's voice. It was so small… so delicate…

Like a kitten's whimper.

"Do… do you have the same feelings towards me too?" Yang's eyes widened. "Do you lo-"

"Of course I do, Blakey!" There was a newfound determination. A fire of passion that had been flickered into life. "Of course I love you. How can I not? Man, Blake, thought you were the smart one here. Really, Blake. I love you. I have loved you for a damn long time."

Yang was surprised at how easily it was for her to say it.

She'd imagined countless scenarios where she confessed her words. And within those scenarios came all kinds of results. One where Blake told her the feelings weren't mutual. Another where Blake laughed, thinking it was all a joke.

The worst was always where Blake told her the feelings weren't mutual, and that Yang wasn't right for her.

These scenarios had always haunted Yang to no end.

She'd always wondered how she would do it - _if_ she would even do it at all.

Yang had imagined countless amounts of scenarios.

Not one of them involved Blake being the one to confess to her first.

"Wow…" muttered Blake.

It… it felt good. Like there was this weight that was thrown away from her shoulders, and now she felt lighter. Better. Freer. More herself.

"Yeah, I can't believe it either," the blonde laughed.

Oh, and she was also more tired. Like she'd run a marathon.

She flopped down to the couch with a thud, eyes wide and cheeks ablaze. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Blake leaning back a little, putting a hand on her head while the other supported her weight.

"This feels unreal," her girlfriend said.

The silence that followed was one of relief.

The sky was bright once more, despite the sun nowhere to be seen. And the wind didn't whisper, it sang a soft melody. Her heart was still beating vastly, but it didn't hammer against her ribcage, nor did it hurt her. It was beating strongly, happily. Much like herself.

Soon, Blake lied down on the couch, face-to-face with herself.

Yang looked at Blake, who, in return, looked at her.

"... This is kinda overwhelming, to be honest," she found herself saying.

With their face so close to each other, Yang could see the faint smile curling in her girlfriend's lips, admiring how beautiful it was. "How so?"

Yang bit her cheek, eyes trailing downwards. "I dunno," she admitted. "Thought there would be more… explosions."

Blake, in response, snorted. "Really? Your idea on confessing your love for me includes explosions."

Yang blushed at Blake's grin. "Hey, it was supposed to be really cool!" She then blinked, realizing what she'd just said, and broke into a fit of chuckles. Blake did the same, seconds later.

It was like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders. A heavy, irritating weight that had been bugging and poking and prodding her since… well… as long as she could remember.

But now that the weight was gone… she was… admittedly, a little lost.

"Hoo, boy. Wow. What do we do now?" she asked.

"Spend more time together?"

Yang rolled her eyes at that. "Of course we'll be spending more time together, sheesh." She pressed her finger to her chin, thinking, before her eyes brightened and she let out an "Aha!" sound.

As she pulled out her phone, her clueless girlfriend asked, "What is it?"

Yang pressed send before answering, "Texting Ruby, of course."

As the blonde texted again, Blake asked, "Why?"

"Because we'll be checking out what those two lovebirds are doing." She pressed the button again.

"... To ruin their night?" Blake offered. Without having to look, Yang knew she was raising her eyebrow.

A wicked grin flashed across her face.

"... Maybe."

She pressed the send button one last time.

Her smile widened and she nodded approvingly at herself as she read her messages.

There were three messages in total. All of them were currently unread.

 _ **Guess who's gunna come and ruin ur night**_

 _ **. . .**_

 _ **YOURS TRULY OF COURSE!**_

* * *

 **Heh, Yang is being Yang and Blake is being Blake.**

 **What a chapter.**


	39. Gathered

**So, exams week is starting, and I just want to say...**

 **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIII should've studied more, and I shouldn't have slacked off in PE all these months, ugh, what if it effects my grades?! What if I didn't pass this semester?! AAAAAAAAAAAAA!**

 **Anyways, enjoy this chapter ^^**

* * *

The doorbell rang; Ruby groaned; Weiss rolled her eyes.

Despite how comfortable they were - laying together on the couch, still _a little_ sweaty and flushed from all of the kissings - she knew she had to be responsible and say, "We have to go get it."

Ruby, who had been resting her chin on Weiss' hair, groaned again, louder this time. "Nope."

 _Child,_ she thought. "Fine, then I'll go get it."

The arms around her waist tightened. "Nope."

Weiss' eye twitched. "Ruby," she warned.

Ruby began to nuzzle her neck, planting soft kisses that wavered her resolve. "Why can't we just stay in bed?" Her tone was soft, small, and sweet, and Weiss absolutely loved it.

"R-Ruby-" She squirmed, trying to get out, but the sixteen-years-old girl was surprisingly strong for her size. She struggled for a few seconds before her resolve broke as she sighed, her body lying limp, letting Ruby kiss her more and more. "This isn't even the bed," was all she could retort.

The doorbell rang again. Weiss scowled and was about to tell whoever it was to leave them be when the person spoke.

"Yo, Ruby! Forgot the keys! Could you help a sister out?"

Weiss shot up from the bed- _couch_ in the speed of light. Her hands quickly dusted off any and all wrinkles and she willed her cheeks to revert back to their original, pale color.

Ruby acted slower, but even she was scared of the possibility of her sister finding out what they'd been doing. She straightened out her cowlick and got up, all traces of laziness gone, replaced by a little sister's fear.

She and Weiss shared a hesitant glance as Ruby's hand found the handle of the door, and the heiress hastily asked in a whisper, "Do I look okay?"

Ruby - much to her irritation - offered a shrug and opened the door.

Weiss' jaw dropped, not at seeing the waste of a human being that was Yang Xiao Long, but the familiar face of her girlfriend, AKA the bassist of her band, AKA the Weiss' best friend, AKA Blake Belladonna.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she asked, her voice rising in pitch.

It was Yang who answered, "I… live here." Though it sounded more like a question.

She shook her head. "Not you," she said, nose momentarily wrinkling in disgust, before turning her attention to the feline girl. Their eyes locked, and Weiss gulped in fear when she found amusement dancing within those yellow orbs.

Still, Yang was the one who answered, despite not the one being asked the question. "Oh, yeah, she came because I invited her over. We wanted to see what you lovebirds have been up to." The blonde's smirk suggested what she was thinking was anything but appropriate. "Nothing… bad, I suppose?"

Weiss reacted accordingly; Sputtering and trying to deny it. Before her mouth could form a cohesive word, however, Ruby said, "So? What if we were?"

If Weiss wasn't shell-shocked, she would've laughed at Yang's horrified face and Blake's amused one.

They stared at each other for a few, long, awkward seconds before Ruby nonchalantly asked with her one-of-a-kind smile, "Anyway, what are you doing here, Blake?"

Amber eyes trailed to look at Weiss for a moment before Blake looked at Ruby again, flashing a kind smile as well. "I had nothing to do." She gave her infamous 'Blake' shrug.

Weiss scowled. Was that really an excuse to go to her girlfriend's house?... Well, it sort of was, but they'd interrupted she and Ruby's cuddling! That was not something she would take lightly!

"Why didn't you tell us you were coming over, Blake?" asked Ruby, who gestured for the noirette to come in, swatting Yang's hand away when the older sibling tried to mess with her hair.

"Yang said she messaged you," explained Blake, whose eyebrow rose. "Did you not get it?"

Oh… so that's what those messages were…

"N-no! Yeah! Absolutely! I definitely read it!"

… _One of these days, I'll have to teach the dolt how to ACTUALLY lie._

Blake's eyebrow rose higher. "It's okay if you didn't," she reminded.

Yang chirped in by hooking her arm around Ruby's neck and adding in, "Yeah, you were busy eating up the Ice Queen. It's no big deal."

"Yang!" they all shouted in unison.

"Must you phrase it in such a way?" Weiss said, ignoring how hot her cheeks were.

"D-don't talk about us in that way! It's gross!" chastised her sister, who was pushing away the blonde, equally mortified.

Blake was too red in the face to say anything.

Yang looked back and forth between her and the brunette. "... Wait, so you were eating her up?"

"NO!" shouted Weiss.

"M-MAYBE!" shouted Ruby.

Blake "Ugh"ed and slapped her hand to her face.

"You guys are hopeless," the brute said with a serious face, which offended Weiss on many levels. Before she could retort with a witty remark, Yang was already moving on to a different topic. "So, anyone hungry?"

"We just had dinner," Weiss felt the need to say, even though she was certain spaghetti wasn't considered healthy enough to be eaten for dinner.

"Yeah, us too, don't know why I asked." Yang's eyebrows scrunched up in thought.

"How about a movie?" Ruby suggested.

Weiss' face softened. That wasn't a bad idea. "What movie?" she asked.

"Dunno," Yang said _helpfully_ as she strode towards one of their drawers, pulling out a few DVD cases. "We have a whole bunch of stuff." She looked back and forth between Weiss and Blake. "What do you want to watch?"

Weiss blinked, a little taken aback. She didn't know all that much about movies. All she'd ever known was music since she was a child, so she opted to say, "The good one."

Yang's face brightened. "Of course we'll choose the good one, silly," she said, her tone not demeaning, but endearing. "But they're all good, otherwise we wouldn't have them." She flashed the heiress a bright smile which, surprisingly, soothed her nerves.

 _Maybe the night won't be so bad after all,_ she thought as she settled in.

* * *

Turns out…

Choosing the perfect movie, the one that all of them could enjoy… was hard.

And when Ruby said hard, she meant _super duper_ hard.

She should've expected this, to be honest. Especially with how… diverse… their gang was.

First, there was her sister, Yang, who was… very picky… about what she wanted to watch. She said she was "cool with whatever"... so long as it involved fire, explosions, lava, and a whole lotta guns…

 _Seriously, what is up with my sister and her pyromania?!_

Then, there was Weiss… who didn't want to watch whatever they picked because it didn't look 'classy' enough… While normally Ruby would consider her girlfriend to be the most perfect being in the entire world… she was now starting to contemplate changing her consideration into the most perfect being in the entire world… who was annoying when it came to movies.

Oh, and there was Blake as well, who only requested one small thing; for there to be romance in it. That would've been fine… if they weren't looking at her and Yang's movie collections.

There was this one movie called 'Ninjas of Love', but Blake quickly told her not to watch it under any circumstances. The way she'd spoken it was weird too - she went 180 from being cool and reserved to being this panicked, stuttering, red-faced teenager.

… Was this Ninja movie really _that_ bad? Ruby made a mental note to herself to watch it one day - preferably when Blake wasn't around.

And last, there was Ruby herself. She didn't mind whatever they were watching so long as it wasn't one of those cheesy romantic movies because _ew, it's gross._

This all lead to their current, lost state.

"Umm…" That was Yang.

"So…" That was she herself.

Blake blinked, her ear flicking once.

"This obviously isn't going to work." That was a deadpanning Weiss.

Seconds ticked by in silence. No one really knew what to do or say.

Ruby cleared her throat, not wanting the silence to drag out too long because it was too tense for her introverted mind, and tried to offer a solution.

'Tried' being the keyword.

"I…" She cleared her throat again, despite everyone in the room including herself knowing she wasn't sick in any way. "I think we should… err…" She frantically looked around, her face becoming wetter with sweat with the look everyone was giving her.

Then, a perfect and brilliant and awesome idea popped made its way into her genius head when she saw Crescent Thorn, her baby guitar.

"We should listen to music!"

Because Crescent Thorn was her baby, and her baby was her guitar, and a guitar was an instrument, and instrument were objects made for creating music, and they all love music, and… well...

It's a win-win!

"What?"

"Pardon?"

Okay… _maybe_ it was more of a win-lose kind of thing...

"That sounds kinda dumb, Sis."

Yeah… it was more of a lose-lose kind of thing… but it sounded like the perfect plus brilliant plus awesome idea in her head, furthermore, "I don't see any of you giving any ideas!" She pointed a finger at each person in the room; her girlfriend, who rolled her eyes, her sister, who snickered, and her friend, who was the only person in this room looking genuinely guilty!

More seconds ticked by, and yet no one but her suggested any ideas! It was like she was the only one in this room who cared about this night being not awkward!

"Maybe… we should just… talk."

Oh. Nevermind, then.

It took Ruby a full second before the words were fully absorbed. "Wait, talk?" She cocked her head to the side. It _sounded_ cool - well, anything Blake said was _always_ cool - but she didn't really understand what it meant.

"What about?" Weiss asked. It seemed she wasn't the only one who was confused by the prospect of it. Similar to Ruby herself, however, the heiress was interested, judging by how she leaned towards Blake and how her pretty eyes shone.

"About whatever we want," Blake answered with an easy shrug before she timidly lowered her head and added, "If you all want to, that is."

Yang, being Yang, quickly wrapped her arm around Blake's waist and gave her a 'Yang' smile. "Nah, are you kidding? That sounds like a great idea!" She turned to look at Ruby and Weiss, waggling her eyebrows in that 'Yang' way. "Right girls?" she asked.

Of course Yang would think it was great. And it wasn't _just_ because she actually thought of it as an amazing idea, but it was most definitely because Yang 'liked' Blake and didn't want her to be sad.

Ruby and Weiss looked at each other.

Weiss gave her a look of half-interest, and Ruby translated those words as, "I guess it could be fun."

Ruby shrugged back, but with a smile, which meant, "Yeah! It totally could!"

She then turned to the couple and said - with actual words, this time, "Sounds like a plan!"

* * *

Blake found her current situation amusing, if not heartwarming.

When she'd suggested they talk, she meant that they should, quite literally, talk. Like, have a group conversation.

Of course, that was not how the energetic sisters took her words.

Instead of the normal activity that was talking, they somehow created a game out of it.

"Alright! Everyone know the rules?!" Ruby said in an unnecessarily loud volume. "Yang?" She turned towards her sister.

"Roger!" Yang mocked a salute, wearing that goofy, excited grin that defused all of Blake's attempts to point out how… odd… the game actually was.

The brunette turned to her newfound girlfriend. "Weiss?"

The heiress frowned, opened her mouth, but then her eyes were met with Ruby's, and she managed one stiff nod.

 _Looks like I'm not the only one incapable of handling their cuteness._

Ruby and Yang were so different in many aspects, but when it came to their cuteness, the two siblings had one thing in common; being able to use it as an ace card to get whatever they wanted from their girlfriends.

"Blake?" At her name being mentioned, one of her cat ears perked up and she nodded with a light hum. Ruby nodded at her with what Blake assumed to be her serious face. "Alright, then! I'm gonna explain the rules again anyway!"

Two groans of displeasure. One timid sigh of resignation.

"So!" the brunette started with a dramatic chest-puffing, arms to her waist, which didn't work as well as it could due to the fact that she was sitting cross-legged on the carpeted floor. In fact, they all were. "We each got to 'confess', which means we tell everyone about something we've been wanting to tell everyone - something not everyone knows. So… someone should start," she finished, a bit anxiously.

The heiress suddenly pointed to Yang, almost accusingly. "You! What are you hiding!"

Her adorable girlfriend responded by squawking at the short girl. "Wha-?! What gave you that idea!?"

Frosty eyes glared ice daggers at warm lilac. "You've been nice to me."

Blake blinked. Yang tilted her head to the side, a frown slowly forming.

"... So?"

"You're never nice to me!" Weiss threw her hands up. "Not unless you're planning to lock me up in some restaurant again!"

Blake fought the urge to smile. "She has a point there, Yang," she commented, trying to rile up the two. It was always fun to watch her girlfriend and her best friend fight.

"W-well, what if I'm just being nice?"

"Confessions," Ruby reminded. "You have to do confessions. Don't use 'What If's." Blake was surprised at the strictness of the brunette. She reminded her of Glynda.

Yang grunted, unimpressed by how strict her little sister was acting. "Yeah, okay, fine." The blonde rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and _not_ looking at anyone. "I'm being nice to _you_ because _you've_ been nice to my baby sis and my lady-" Blake's face went beet red. Not that anyone had noticed. "-and I think it's only fair that I'm nice to you."

After her heart momentarily melted at being addressed as royalty so casually by the girl whose beauty _was_ princess-like, Blake was able to zone back into the world again only to find an oddly heartwarming sight of Weiss lowering her wall of hostility for once, uncrossing her arms and looking at the blonde in bewilderment.

"That's… nice of you, Yang…" Weiss said, hesitant, but open. "Maybe you're not insufferable after all…" Yang suddenly looked at her with a mix of awe and joy, and all of the heiress' icy walls shot back up again, and she glared at the blonde with nothing but disdain. "Maybe," she growled.

Yang, not expecting the sudden hostility, blinked before plucking out her tongue, being the adult that she was.

Weiss responded by scoffing and quickly turning away.

Blake and Ruby shared a look. The same look.

 _And… we're back to normal,_ the look said.

"Well," Blake sighed, knowing it was time to defuse the situation, "I guess it's your turn now, Ruby."

She smiled at the young girl, who pointed towards herself, seemingly not believing at the fact that she was being chosen. The small, shy action only uplifted Blake's smile.

"M-me?!" And quickly, the girl became a rambling mess. An adorable rambling mess. "Oh, boy, I- umm, should I tell about the- Oh, no, that's too weird. What about- No! That's too weird too! Argh! Why must everything about me be so weird!?"

Weiss deliberately coughed. Ruby looked at her in confusion, before realization dawned at her. She said timidly while joining her two index fingers, "I… have a lot of secrets."

Blake found that hard to believe.

And she was willing to believe Weiss and Yang felt the same way as well.

"Really?" Surprisingly, it was Yang who decided to vocalize her doubts.

Ruby nodded, looking serious. Well, as serious as a sixteen years old cookie loving teenager could be. "Okay… yeah…" She took a deep breath as if thinking of what she wanted to say took some sort of toll on her. "I don't know if you guys know, but…"

The dramatic pause… was undramatic.

"I like music. Like, really really like music."

"We know," Weiss was quick to say.

Ruby was like a deer caught in headlights. "Really?!" The pitch of her voice hurt Blake's ears, and she cringed.

Yang was unimpressed as well, crossing her arms and looking down, not unlike a mother would to her toddler. "Rubes. How can we not?"

The brunette at least managed to look guilty, rubbing her head sheepishly in the way that eerily reminded her of her girlfriend.

"Oh… umm… then… Oh!" She snapped, her demeanor changing into confidence in a heartbeat. "There's this other secret!… I love cookies."

Weiss facepalmed.

Yang cringed, most likely wondering how on Remnant had this girl survived for so long. "Again, we know, Rubes."

The young girl was aghast. "W-what!? B-but-"

"You gotta tell something that you're afraid to tell," Blake offered insightfully. "Otherwise it won't be a confession."

Ruby looked at her, and slowly nodded as her face morphed into one of understanding.

But then that understanding vanished. "Uumm… like what?"

"That's up to you, Rubyroo," Yang sighed out. Once again, Blake found herself comparing Yang to an old, tired, single mother trying to deal with her rebelling teenager.

Ruby looked down, rubbing her chin in thought. She hummed, then looked up at each of them with a confused frown. "Then, how about… I may sort of am in love with Weiss probably…? Does that count?"

… _WHAT?!_

Blake looked at Weiss, whose cheeks were turning redder by the second. She outstretched her hand, wanting to touch her shoulder, but then Yang came in and shouted like an announcer, "Alrighty, then! Moving on!"

Blake was sure none of them missed the fact that Yang's smile looked very much forced. Or that her eyes looked a bit different. They looked red instead of the usual lilac. Though Blake would mostly blame it on the lighting.

The blonde focused all of her attention to the heiress, leaning in far too closely for the heiress' comfort zone.

"Weiss, what's your confession?"

Weiss didn't seem scared of the raging, smoldering blonde. All she did was scoff in that royalty-like way and said, "You're insufferable."

"But awesome!" Yang's smile widened.

"Not really…" The blonde pouted. Blake and Ruby smiled. The heiress moved on. "Alright, my confession is…"

Weiss looked at Yang dead in the eyes, her face not showing any emotion, especially not humor.

"I'm in love with your sister."

 _Again…_

… _WHAT?!_

Yang, who, all this time, had been the embodiment of confidence, had her face falling.

"U-umm… I- err, you- "

If Blake wasn't in a state of shock, she would've found Yang's incoherent blubbering amusing.

She didn't know what to do. Should she say something? What could she _possibly_ say at _this_ kind of situation?!

Really, she wasn't sure if she _should_ even be here right now. She knew the right thing to do would be to grab Yang and get the hell out of this room, giving the two girls space they desperately needed…

Yeah… Blake _should_ do the right thing…

And the right thing would be to leave… to not be present at what _would_ be an intimate, personal, _private_ moment…

Too bad she won't do it because really, _I can NEVER miss out on this._

And, after briefly glancing at her own girlfriend - and finding a glint in lilac eyes which spoke of how interested Yang was in what would happen as well - she knew she would not leave this room so soon. They both would… not.

"Really, Weiss? You mean it?"

All of Blake's attention went into the two girls whose eyes were locked into each other's, sparkling in what could only be described as pure awe, wonder, and more.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yang scooting away from them and towards her, clasping her own hand with Blake's - an obvious signal that said, "Holy shit, Blake! This is happening! Holy shit!"

Blake squeezed back once, which meant, "I know, Yang. I know."

And the two of them watched as something potentially beautiful _blossomed._ Something white and rosy.

Silver and blue were locked in each other's gaze for the longest of times.

It was Weiss who spoke first.

"Yes." Weiss' voice was soft - softer than Blake had ever heard before. "It may be a bit early to say this," a withering sigh, "but, after realizing that we might not have much time together left…" She gave a poised, stiff shrug, with a small, brave smile. "Might as well say it now, right?"

And so, Blake waited alongside Yang with bated breath.

They waited for Ruby to possibly reply with something equally heart-tugging and sweet.

They waited for a kiss; either short and sweet or long and lustful - though she did prefer the former over the latter.

They waited for something - anything - to happen.

As time passed…

Nothing happened.

Nothing apart from staring - which was done by everyone in the room respectively. Ruby was staring at Weiss, her expression pure joy. Weiss was staring at Ruby, looking a little unsure. And Yang and Blake were looking at the drama that… was not happening. Sadly.

"Your turn, Yang," the brunette suddenly said, her face missing the love and joy it had shown literally seconds ago.

Blake blinked, and so did Yang, who then tilted her head and pointed to herself. "Eh? Me?"

Weiss nodded. "Yes. You."

"B-b-but-" the blonde shook her head, her wild mane swaying. "What about you two?!" she said as she gestured towards the two girls.

Said girls simply looked at each other, then back at Yang with an equally confused face. "What about us?" Ruby asked.

Yang's face was dumbfounded. Blake couldn't blame her, considering she had the exact same face. They looked at each other, sharing a silent communication yet again.

"What the fuck?" she and Yang's face seemed to say.

Blake then regarded the two of them - who looked at her blankly - and cleared her throat. "What Yang was trying to say was… We were wondering, umm…"

"ARE YOU TELLING ME YOU'RE JUST GONNA CONFESS TO EACH OTHER AND THEN BE OKAY WITH IT?! JUST LIKE _THAT_?!"

 _Took the words right out of my mouth, Yang,_ thought Blake. _Though, I would've been more… considerate with my words…_

Regardless, Blake intently stared at the two of them, who shared a glance with each other before turning to look at them with the same, unknowing expression.

"Well," muttered Ruby. "Yeah…"

Blake's jaw dropped. She was sure Yang's did as well.

Weiss scoffed, raising one perfect-looking eyebrow. "What'd you expect us to do? Cry or something?" She looked at Ruby, who now had an amused, teasing look on her face. "It was obvious from the start, wasn't it?"

Ruby, in return, nodded. "Yup." They both turned towards her and Yang again, and the younger of the two asked, "Now spill it, Yang. You're hiding something - I would know, I lived with you all my life."

"Wonder how you manage…" Weiss muttered, loud enough for everyone - especially Yang - to hear.

On a normal circumstance, the blonde wouldn't have let that insult be thrown at her, not without saying a few spiteful words of her own. But, being caught in hiding something - something Blake had been hiding as well - took all of Yang's fight.

Yang ran a hand through her golden mane, chuckling nervously. "Well, umm… "

Her eyes found Blake's, and in those eyes lied a question for permission.

Blake bit her lip. She wasn't so sure if what had happened should be told to anyone…

But, then again, Ruby and Weiss weren't _just_ anyone…

Timidly, Blake nodded, and Yang's eyes widened before she narrowed her eyes, nodding in determination.

When she turned to regard the two girls again, none of her anxiousness was present. They were gone and replaced with something more familiar - her Xiao Long confidence.

She grinned and lazily waved a hand. "Nothing really interesting, really, I just confessed my eternal, undying love for my girlfriend."

 _Heh._

 _That's one way to drop the bomb._

Blake couldn't _possibly_ complain, though, seeing how much she enjoyed seeing the two's reactions to it all.

"... WHAT?!" That was Weiss, who clutched her chest with her hand - right at where her heart was. She looked like she was having a heart attack.

Ruby looked far happier, eyes shining with shock and happiness and mouth forming in the biggest, widest, purest toothy smile Blake had ever seen.

"YOU PROPOSED TO HER!?"

All of Blake's amusement was thrown out of the window. Her jaw dropped.

Slowly, Weiss' head tilted to look at the _misunderstood_ brunette.

"... WHAT?!" she half-asked half shouted… again.

"NO! RUBY!" screeched Yang, throwing out her hands and waving them around, trying to get some sort of composure and failing miserably at it, cheeks as red as her sister's name. "WHAT EVEN- NOT THAT I- I _DO_ WANT TO!"

Blake's jaw dropped even further. Oh, and her face was red. Redder than what should be considered normal.

"... WHAT?!" That was Weiss… _again._

Before the situation could escalate even further - therefore, worsening her headache - Blake decided to put matters into her own hands.

"Okay, that's enough," she said, not harshly enough to be considered a shout, but still firm and loud enough for everyone to finally shut their damn mouths and pay attention to her.

She took a deep breath.

"Now it's my turn," she said, putting a well-deserved and totally-not-overused dramatic pause for… well… drama.

"... I confessed back."

"... WHA-"

"And it was _not_ a proposal, _Weiss_ ," she hissed.

"... WHA- Oh." Weiss blinked and managed to look guilty.

"Aww, man," Ruby whispered, her voice so small that no _humans_ should be able to hear her. "Blake would make such an awesome sister-in-law."

… _I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear that._

"So, yes." She regarded the girls again, taking a small breath before continuing with a bold, "We do love each other. We just confessed tonight, actually."

Blake turned to Yang again, unable to resist a smile from forming. The memory was still fresh - it _at least_ occurred a few hours ago. When Yang caught her eyes, the blonde gave her the dopiest, sappiest, most adorable smile the faunus had ever had the pleasure of seeing.

And so, it was only rational for her to lean towards the girl and give her a kiss, intending for it to last not quite long.

Of course, what she'd intended wasn't what actually happened, and the kiss ended up being longer and… deeper… then she'd planned.

It was only because of Ruby's deliberate cough and Weiss' "We're still here, you know" did they pull apart, and even so, they lightly bumped each other's nose and nuzzled each other before finally ending it.

She looked at Yang, who looked back with a great amount of love that it melted Blake's heart.

Blake regarded the two embarrassed girls with a sly smirk, saying "Sorry," even when she was anything but.

How could she be sorry when she was with one _extremely_ gorgeous blonde, after all?

* * *

 **So, we're nearing the end, people. Wow, um, even though this isn't _technically_ the last chapter, I'm already feeling kinda emotional here. Like, it's become a routine for me to write this story, I've been writing it for 11 months, so for me to suddenly stop... it's just... it feels hollow, like something inside of me is missing.**

 **Though, on the bright side, my newest Bumblebee story (with a side of White Rose, of course) has been developing greatly. I still don't know what the title is, I'm stuck between "Mysteries and Monsters", "Howling for Help", and "The Truth and What Matters More"... They're all awesome titles for my story and I don't know which one to choose. Though, my partner/beta-reader FeugoFox42 (check out his work they are _amazing_ ) likes ****"The Truth and What Matters More".**

 **This is the summary (for the time being, until I come up with a better one since I _suck_ at writing summaries):**

Blake's feelings towards her partner have been growing for quite some time, but against all odds, she's managed to keep the blonde beauty from noticing, content with what they are, not wanting to ruin the bond they've built since they laid eyes on each other… until that fateful night when their mission went wrong. When everything went wrong.

 **It's about Blake and Yang biting more than they can chew by ignoring their professor's warning and trying to investigate a White Fang base that seems suspicious and is different from all the other bases. They both ended up seeing things that can't be explained. After it all ended, Blake starts to act... different. Yang, at first, thinks it's just because of the shock and adrenaline. Though, she'll soon learn that that is _far_ from the case.**

 **The main genre of this story will be Romance and Hurt/Comfort, though there will be suspense and action. I did my best to really work and polish this story. The genre I'm working on _is_ quite different from what I usually wrote (comedy and mindless, plotless fluff), and I think that's a good thing because it really challenges me to better myself as a writer. Plus, I think it'll be a good read for all of you.**

 **I think the biggest difference between my new story and this one is... the fact that it's really a story. F &GF, while great, isn't exactly a real story. Sure, there are character growth, events that happens, but it all feels more like a huge bundle of fluff than an actual story, and there's _nothing_ wrong with that! There's never anything wrong with feel-good fluff.**

 **I made sure (and am still making sure) that my new story has a solid plot, tension that gradually builds, and stakes that are pretty high. I plan this story before writing it, unlike F &GF. With F&GF, I mostly just go with the flow, writing what I want to write, even if that sometimes doesn't make sense. With this, I make sure to really create a well thought-out and enjoyable story.**

 **I'm still working on the story, and I honestly don't know when I'll upload it. It can be in a few days, it can be in a few weeks, I really don't know. But what I do know is that whatever decision I'll choose, I'm sure it's for the best. If you have any questions (spoiler-free, of course) regarding this new story, feel free to ask them through a review, I'll be sure to answer them as best as I can.**

 **I'll actually give you a sneak peek of the story, similar to what I did with Three Masters, next week, just as I end this one. I think you all deserve that much for sticking with me through all these months :)**

 **Thanks for everything, guys, see you all next week!**


	40. Not a Goodbye

**This is it, everyone. This is the last chapter.**

 **Wow, it feels off saying that.**

 **Like, I've been writing this story for months so, to suddenly end it is like... It's like something just died inside of me, you know.**

 **Okay, so maybe that was an exaggeration. But it does feel a little weird, knowing that I won't be writing this story any longer.**

 **Looking back at it, I see now that I've made a few mistakes. This has never been a perfect story, but... I'm proud of it either way.**

 **Thank you, everyone.**

 **Thank you for reading my story. Thank you for writing the reviews. Thank you for just... just being awesome in general.**

 **All of you have been supportive from the start and, I feel like without you, I would've stopped writing a long time ago.**

 **Goodbye, guys.**

 **I hope you all enjoy this chapter despite its length. I wanted to make it longer, but... the story just feels right to end it here, you know. I know some of you might not be satisfied, and I apologise. I simply prefer quantity over quality.**

 **It's been... It's been a wild ride. But a fun ride nonetheless.**

 **Thank you.**

* * *

Hours felt like seconds as they chatted animatedly with each other. Well, she and Ruby chatted animatedly, Weiss and Blake just listened in half-interestedly and occasionally throw in a few words of their own, which was completely weird, _because_ _why WOULDN'T someone be interested in whether or not a T-Rex COULD scratch its back?!_

Yang and her sister were talking about potentially mind-blowing, ground-breaking, world-changing things! And yet their girlfriends just sat there, looking at them like they were from another planet!

Blake even pulled out a book!

… _WHERE_ COULD BLAKE HAVE EVEN PUT A BOOK WITHOUT ANYONE NOTICING ALL THIS TIME?! The girl didn't bring a purse, and there was no way in hell she could've put it in her pockets! Lady pockets were too small for them to _actually_ be useful, after all.

Currently, they were in an argument about whether or not the mighty T-Rex wouldn't _need_ to have its back scratched because of how awesome it was when Weiss let out a fake cough.

The two sisters paused their very professional and important debate to look at the heiress.

"What is it, Weiss?" Ruby asked using a tone that Yang had only seen her use when she was smoldering and cuddling and taking care of her guitars.

"It's… getting late."

Yang raised an eyebrow. She knew Weiss must be the type of gal who obeyed the curfew law and whatever. "C'mon Weiss, loosen up," she said, waving a hand dismissively, pulling a confident smile in hopes to ease her off. "It can't be _that_ late."

Her girlfriend looked up from her book and met her eyes, raising one eyebrow as she generously supplied, "It's one in the morning."

Yang regarded her, before blinking and smiling painfully. "Okay, maybe it _is_ that late."

Weiss looked at Ruby guiltily. "We should probably… leave…"

At that, the brunette quickly snapped her head towards her girlfriend, eyes brimming with absolute determination. "Wha-?! No! You can't leave yet!"

Weiss was unimpressed. "Why not? We're all obviously tired," she pointed out, gesturing to the four of them.

And, while Yang did see her point, her sister was a little more persistent, pouting and trying to convince the two girls despite them already making up their minds.

"W-well! The night's young! Who needs sleep any-" a yawn, ironically, cut the rest of her sentence off, and man, was it a cute, little yawn.

Yang made sure her smirk was as teasing as it could ever be.

"You were saying?"

Ruby glared at her but didn't argue. She knew she wasn't going to win this one.

They both stood up, stretched, and talked a bit more before the monochrome duo made the move to leave.

However, before tomorrow came…

Yang's hand found Blake's wrist, and she pulled the girl into a deep kiss, not holding back in the slightest. She vaguely heard Weiss shrieking "Okay I'm going to wait in the lobby!" and Ruby mustering out "I-I'll take you there..." and thought to herself, _Good, get lost._

They were the only ones in the room when they pulled apart, panting and flushing with exhaustion yet smiling. Only, while Blake still somehow managed to look absolutely gorgeous, Yang was pretty sure she looked like she'd ran a marathon.

"Must you really scare them off like that?" Blake eventually said, raising one eyebrow in that teasing, sexy way.

Yang shrugged helplessly, her smile still plastered. "Can't help it," she replied honestly.

Blake shook her head but said nothing.

They stayed in their position, leaning towards each other, trusting that the other would keep them balanced.

Their breaths were the only sound filling the room, with the occasional chuckle coming from the blonde.

A thought crossed Yang's mind, and, though she didn't wish for this comforting, warm atmosphere to go away, she knew she _had_ to ask.

"So… what happens now?"

She didn't need to say anything more than that. She knew Blake understood.

Her eyes were set on the wooden floor beneath them, unable to look at Blake in the eyes, afraid that if she found something… bad… then… she wouldn't be able to handle it.

"... I don't know."

The truthful answer didn't surprise Yang. She knew Blake was just as at lost - if not, moreso - than Yang was.

She swallowed before forcing her eyes to look up and into those amber eyes that had become _so_ familiar.

She forced herself to stop biting her lip, to stop fidgeting. She took a deep calming breath, making sure her voice would neither crack nor stutter.

Yang wanted to ask another question. A more… direct and… personal question.

"... What will happen to us?"

Yang knew a lot of things could happen, but… that was what feared her even more. And, by gazing into those pools of yellow, she knew it feared her girlfriend too.

"I'm… not sure."

The uncertainty and waver in that voice broke Yang's heart in many ways. Blake looked so small… so fragile… Yang couldn't help but plant a small kiss on her forehead. When Blake blinked in surprise - undoubtedly not expecting the action - Yang grinned and planted another kiss, this time, on her nose. The blonde pulled away for a moment, her grin widening when she saw her girlfriend's wide eyes, before finally settling in on kissing her girlfriend on the lips.

Unlike before, the kiss was short and sweet. But, just like before, they pulled away with smiles on their faces despite the redness on their cheeks.

Yang made sure her smile was comforting and easy-going.

"What do _you_ think will happen?" she asked with a tone that suggested it was more out of genuine curiosity than anything grimmer.

Blake's eyes lit up; something that made Yang's heart do a backflip with how absolutely precious it was.

She hummed for a while, narrowing her eyes and pursing her lips in thought.

"We'll… be together." Blake's hand cupped Yang's cheek, smiling shyly. "Just like how we are now."

Ah. That was a nice thought, wasn't it?

 _If only…_

Yang buried those thoughts away. She didn't want the night to end in anything other than a happy note. She listened as Blake spoke.

"And we'll keep staying together. Our feelings never change. Even if the rest of the world does," the last part was spoken in a whisper.

Yang's grin turned into a smile - a calm, small smile that quite didn't fit her boisterous nature. "Man… I sure hope _that's_ true," she chuckled, running a hand through her wild mane. She'd been doing that a lot more lately. Was she really so nervous?

Time was ticking. And they didn't have a lot of time. Ruby and Weiss were waiting - and even if they weren't, Blake still had to leave.

Yang couldn't help but declared, "I love you, you know that, right?"

"It's hard not to," quipped Blake, causing Yang to snicker. Sometimes she forgot how witty her girlfriend could be. The prideful smirk disappeared instantly and was replaced by something more genuine. "And… I love you too."

Those words caused Yang to melt in all kinds of ways. She failed to resist the urge and pulled Blake into another deep kiss, suddenly finding herself unable to care about the fact that Weiss was probably ticked off by now.

And, it wasn't as if Blake didn't care as well… she put just as much vigor into her kiss as Yang did, deepening it.

No matter how often they'd kissed each other at this point, Yang hadn't grown tired of it. She doubted she ever would.

Each kiss was different.

Each kiss was special.

But there was something especially different about this kiss…

It brought back memories. Special memories.

Memories of when they first met.

The first thing that came to mind regarding that particular memory was how nervous Yang was.

She remembered almost wanting to call it all off and just go back home because she _really_ wanted her first impression to not suck.

She remembered telling herself to breathe deeply because of how shaky she was getting.

She remembered wondering what Blake would think of her.

Oh, how things had changed.

She still got jittery when she was going to see Blake, but now, it was for whole other reasons. She was jittery not because she was scared she'd make a bad impression, but because she couldn't wait to pull her into a deep kiss.

In many ways, Blake herself had changed.

She was still the same quiet, intelligent, witty girl Yang had come to love, but… the way Yang saw Blake was what changed.

At first… Blake was like a myth to her - someone who was _too_ perfect to be real.

As they grew closer, Yang began to realize that Blake was no myth. She was a person. Someone with flaws, someone who made mistakes.

A person. Just like her.

Yang began to realize this as she spent time with Blake more and more.

She saw that Blake wasn't always so sure of everything she did - unlike when she was playing music.

She saw that Blake had tears and was able to pour them out at times - both one of joy and one of sadness.

Blake was…

Blake was Blake.

She wasn't just a musician.

She wasn't just a band member.

She wasn't just a musician.

She wasn't just a girlfriend.

She was all of that and more…

Blake was Blake.

"Goodbye, Yang…"

And now she was saying goodbye.

Yang chuckled at her mistake.

"No, Blake…" She winked. "See you later."

Those pools of amber widened as a gasp flew past her lips. Soon, though, they ceased as Blake smiled that beautiful smile, nodding before saying one final thing before she left:

"We'll see each other again."

* * *

 **And this... this is a sneak peek of my new story. I still don't know what to call it yet. Enjoy.**

Yang squinted her eyes as she looked through the binoculars.

A small, abandoned warehouse… at least it _looked_ abandoned with all of those cracked windows…

"Well… it looks like the White Fang might be in there…" she mused before pulling down the binocular, letting it dangle loosely around her neck, turning to look at her partner.

She scrunched up her face instantly. Blake was leaning against a tree, her coat swaying as her hands worked at her weapon.

She was counting her ammo on their mission. That was unusual.

Blake always made sure that everything was prepared before a mission so she wouldn't have to worry when she was in the middle of it. So why would she…?

 _Maybe she's just worried_ , the reasonable part of herself said. _This is the first partner-only mission we took; why wouldn't she take extra precautions?_

If Yang were being honest, she was scared too. For a first mission the two of them were assigned to, it was… a little extreme. She didn't know the exact details of it, worrying about the specifics was her partner's department, but…

It had something to do with the White Fang, and… _Maybe that's why Goodwitch gave us this mission…_ Yang's eyes drifted upwards, where Blake's bow used to be.

"The White Fang _is_ in there, Yang." She didn't need to look back at the faunus to know she was smirking a Cheshire smile.

Yang looked back down again. Without the binoculars, the supposedly-intimidating warehouse looked so small. In fact, all of the buildings looked small. She supposed that was how things looked like when you were on top of a hill.

Yang took a few steps forward, putting her hands on her hips and taking a big, long, satisfying breath, feeling a smile effortlessly crawling into her face.

"You know, despite this being a serious mission and all, I can't help but enjoy the view."

Maybe it was the lights shining from all the buildings around the dark city, creating a twinkle of light that reminded her of the stars.

Maybe it was the hill they were atop of, that made them see the night in a different light; a more beautiful, serene light.

"Me too."

Maybe it was the beautiful girl behind her, who stared at her right in the eye as she spoke, making Yang wonder - as her cheeks were tinted red - just what her partner had meant by that.

The breezy wind blew their face. Yang cursed and tried to fix her now messy hair, but stopped in her tracks when she heard a hiss leaving her partner's mouth.

Blake was, obviously, cold. Even after wearing a jacket, and a scarf, and a pair of gloves, it was night; Winter night. Her teeth chattered, her shoulders hunched forward as she vigorously hugged herself, making her appear smaller than she really was. Not to mention she had a slightly red nose.

Wordlessly, she took off her coat. She never needed it, the cold never bothered her anyway.

Blake opened her eyes with a start when she sensed someone draping something on her shoulders, but eased herself when it was just Yang, who was leaning down at her and was close. Very close. "Yang, what-"

"You'll get sick if you don't cover yourself."

Gentle fingers ghosted against her ribs. Blake watched as those blonde locks kept dangling in front of her, as those small puffs of air formed every time she released a breath.

"What about you?"

Yang's chuckle vibrated. "Blake, have you forgotten that I'm the human equivalent of a portable heater?" She hadn't. That didn't stop her from worrying. "I'll be fine, Blake. Really." The tone was softer, meant to ease her nerves.

Blake looked up at the girl who was only slightly taller than her and slowly nodded. The blonde quickly leaned back, clapping her hands together as she stood proudly, leaning her body weight onto one side. "Great!"

The faunus gripped the collar of the coat and pulled it closer to her, noting that it smelled like fresh lemons and peaches; like Yang.

"How did you know?"

Blake blinked and looked up. She had spaced out, it seemed. Guiltily, she asked, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Yang didn't seem offended or even concerned. She flashed her that familiar warm smile. "I asked how you were able to find this place. It's miles away from Beacon, after all."

"Sun."

Yang pressed her lips together. "You've been talking to him?"

Blake tilted her head as if it was a strange thing to ask. "He's my friend."

Yang's frustration bubbled, but she tried to let it go through letting out a deep breath, causing a puff of air to appear in front of her.

"Yang?"

"Nothing," she lied. "It's nothing…"

Yang gave Blake the binoculars. Her partner was the one with night vision, meaning no matter how well she could see at night, Blake could always see better.

She sat down on the grassy ground. Watching Blake fiddle with Gambol Shroud made her want to check and see if her own weapon was armed and ready.

Yeah… That was what she was doing… That was what she wanted Blake to see; her blonde partner, goofing around, not at all thinking about the faunus in a non-platonic way…

Yang looked up at Blake. Those amber eyes were shining so brightly, so mysteriously. Her hair flew down majestically like a waterfall. Her skin was porcelain-pale and looked smooth… so smooth…

She regretted looking up.

 _She's your teammate._

Yang had always wanted to know what her lips tasted like, how it felt to run her fingers through the girl's dark tresses, to have their noses bumping each others'.

 _She's your partner._

To cuddle with her in bed. To be able to hear her heartbeat so closely. To be able to call Blake 'mine'.

 _She's your best friend._

Yang forcibly cocked back Ember Celica into their bracelet form. She didn't even know if the ammo were full. She didn't care, either. She let her back softly hit the ground… the grass tickled.

Her life had been going perfectly fine. They'd put Roman Torchwick behind bars for good, nobody had gotten hurt, and they'd had loads of fun in the tournament.

Everything seemed well…

If not for the fact that she harbored a massive crush on Blake Belladonna for who knew how long.

Yang draped one arm across her face, blocking her vision.

And it wasn't just any crush either, it was the kind of crush that didn't go away for months. Even when she kept telling herself all the things that could go wrong with pursuing a relationship with her teammate and best friend and partner, the feelings stayed, if not, grew.

And… honestly… she couldn't blame herself…

Why _wouldn't_ she like Blake? The girl was amazing in so many ways! She was super smart, she was mysterious, she was witty, she was sarcastic, and- just- _argh!_

It was hard not to like Blake that way…

Yang didn't realize what kind of feelings she had for Blake until it was too late.

Hell, with all the things that had been going on in her life, she was so busy she didn't even know when she developed these feelings.

It just sort of… happened.

Yang undraped her arm, eyes widening when she saw Blake staring down at her, her chin lifted up in amusement. Her cheeks reddened. "What? It's late!" Blake smirked. Yang scowled. "Aren't we supposed to be kicking ass by now?"

Blake's smile faded and she looked away, glancing at the direction of the so-called suspicious warehouse. She had a poker face - the kind she wore on missions.

The time for jokes was over, it seemed.

"No, Goodwitch's orders were to find the base's location."

Yang stood up, crossing her arms, not because of the chill of the night.

"And…?" She raised an eyebrow expectantly, leaning forward ever-so-slightly.

Blake's eyes narrowed in focus - they looked like slits, giving her this… predatory vibe.

"The mission is to observe until we can confirm that this is the base of a small White Fang branch… then we report back immediately." Blake glanced over her shoulder and at Yang knowingly. "No explosions."

Yang pouted, her shoulders slumping. "Aww… man."

"No fighting, either."

Yang pouted harder. "Aww, Man!"

That just wasn't fair. What kind of a mission was this again?! And why should she come if there were none of those stuff?!

"Otherwise, she'd send the entire team - maybe two."

That... was a good point.

"Ugh, fine." She shook away her frown when a - rather important - question popped into her head. "How do you suppose we do that?"

Yang tilted her head, curious. Blake hummed at her before answering, "We just have to confirm that the White Fang's been hiding in there."

Yang massaged her temples, still not quite understanding what all of this was. She knew Blake loved to be mysterious and all, but sometimes she could be too vague for her own good. "What? So, stuff like masks, or guns, or-"

Blake's ear flicked, her head snapped towards the warehouse. Yang followed her gaze soon after.

It was a little hard to see without the goggles and it being night, but the blonde could see that there were two silhouettes of people walking- no, rushing into the entrance of the building.

"... Or two shady-looking dudes going inside the building." Yang cocked her head at her partner, asking, "That enough proof for ya?"

Now that she looked more closely, there were silhouettes of two people standing near the door, too.

Were they… _guarding_ the entrance?

Blake looked away, her face partly hidden within her scarf, revealing only her eyes. "No. We have to be able to confirm that it's the White Fang."

"Okay…" Yang's feet moved on their own. "Let's get inside then."

A hand grabbed her elbow, causing her to stop. She looked back, finding Blake's frightened gaze. "No, we can't, it might be too dangerous."

What? No, it wasn't. This was just a smaller, less dangerous branch of the White Fang, right? If they could handle the regular White Fangs, then they could definitely handle _these_ downgraded versions of them.

Blake's eyes found Yang's again.

A silent question was asked.

Blake looked at her pleadingly, biting her lip. She swallowed and shook her head again.

Lilac eyes widened as she realized… "You got a hunch."

Blake's hesitant nod confirmed it.

Yang's gaze flickered between the building and her partner, her brows furrowing more and more. It was stupid of Blake to think Yang would believe her, especially with nothing more than a gut feeling…

Yang nodded at Blake with steady eyes. "Fine. Then what will we do?"

Blake looked relieved that she was willing to give up so easily, but she recovered quickly, her face adopting familiar stern features.

"We wait."

There was another breeze, a stronger one. Blake didn't bat an eye and absent-mindedly tucked herself more into Yang's coat.

Yang tried not to make a big deal out of it.


	41. Dream come True (Final Part)

**BOOM! I'M BACK, BITCHES!**

 **Ha! Do you all actually believe I was gonna end the story on _that_ sad note?! Psh! No way!**

 **Psych! Fooled you all! ;D**

 **I wanted to really,** _ **really**_ **surprise you with this** _ **real,**_ **super awesome** **last chapter.**

 **And, well…**

 **I hope you enjoy~**

 **PS, this chapter was "** **finalised" when I last uploaded Chapter 34. Just... Just putting it out there.**

 **PPS, the alternative title for this chapter is "Stage Frights", just like the very first chapter of this story~**

 **As for my new story, I've decided it'd be best for me to upload it next** **Sunday. It's going to be epic, I know it.**

 **Again, everyone, thanks for everything. This story is... a lot of things for me. I know it's not perfect and that it has many flaws but... I still love it and cherish it and appreciate how writing it made me improve as a writer and how writing it has led me into meeting some amazing people. Just... this story has made me the writer that I am today, it allowed me to improve, allowed me to learn the values of writing, what to do and what not to do.**

 **This story is amazing.**

 **It has an amazing start, and...**

 **I think it's fair that it has an amazing end as well, don't you think?**

* * *

A pair of eyes darted all over the complicated-looking amp as she bit her lip and fidgeted her one hand - a habit that her soon-to-be wife had always considered adorably annoying.

Noises occurred from behind her - voices of her team members, chattering away.

 _I can't believe this,_ she thought to herself. _You've been doing this for three whole years, why can't you figure out something as simple as this?!_

She took a deep breath and tried to 'revision' what was in front of her, her fingers tracing at the cable as she figured out which hole she should put it in.

 _Heh. Yang would probably make a joke about that._

… _Good thing she's not here._

Refocusing at the task at hand, her eye twitched in dismay over why the heckity heck was this so mentally-taxing?! Why not just put it in any hole and hope for the best?!

"Hey…"

She turned around to meet the face of a nervous young man. Not just any nervous young man, though. A nervous young man who happened to also be her bandmate. And, judging by the way he was looking _right at her_ with a face that said "Please help me for I know nothing"... she knew that, whatever his problem was, it was going to be her problem too.

She let out a deep breath. "I'm kind of in the middle of something here, what do you want, Neptune?"

Despite him being twenty-four, the man poked his two fingers together and chuckled lightly. He really hadn't changed all that much over the years - not appearance-wise, at least - and the only sign that he'd even aged at all was his barely-noticeable stubble.

"I… don't know where to plug my keytar… I was hoping you'd know since you're… well… you."

Ruby's gaze softened. She bit her lip before muttering, "I wish I knew…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" she squeaked before covering her mouth, coughing in an attempt to at least _look_ like someone who knew what they were doing. "Look, just-" She extended her hand expectantly. "Give it to me."

When the cable was given, she looked at it. Now both of her hands were full - full of cables. She grunted but refused to say anything.

Seconds passed.

"... You don't know either, do you?"

"Well, it's not _my_ fault Atlas' amp thingies are ridiculously complicated!" she snapped.

This time, it was his turn to sigh. He looked back and forth between her shorter stature and the amp behind her. She could practically see the gears inside his head turning.

More seconds passed, in which they awkwardly stood face-to-face in this big space filled with lots of people. She could vaguely hear more sounds from outside - sounds of more people. Lots of 'em. Hundreds, to be exact.

"Give it to me."

"... Fine."

She allowed him to take those cables, chastising him when he twirled them around light-heartedly because they were _precious_ and they should not be treated so _carelessly_ if they were broken even the slightest bit then their instruments would sound _weird_ and that would definitely ruin their entire show.

He then bent down a little as he narrowed his eyes in deep concentration, humming in thought. She actually saw beads of sweat trailing down his forehead.

With brimming confidence, he plugged both cables to two holes, turned around and gave her his infamous chill grin, his pearly white teeth shining, a thumb poking out of his fist.

… _Yeah, like THAT'S reassuring._

"How did you know?" she demanded.

Neptune's grin didn't falter in the slightest even as she gave him a frown that showed how unconvinced she was.

"Why," he boomed, throwing his arms out wide as his grin turned into a full-blown smile. "I use the best trick, of course!"

The fact that he used 'trick' only served to make her even more nervous.

"After all," he chuckled. "Eenie Meenie Miney Moe never fails!"

Ruby Rose stared at him.

He beamed at her.

She stared back harder, not being able to believe if he was being serious.

He maintained his beam before it faltered. He grunted and frowned at her dejectedly. "You know, ever since you've been engaged to Weiss, you're getting less funner."

"Less _fun_ ," she corrected… then she realized what she'd done… her face paled. "Oh my Dust I really am turning into my fiancee." Her face scrunched up as she muttered under her breath, "Is that really a bad thing, though…?"

"What?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. Let's just-" She took her breath, a surefire way to calm herself down. "Let's just… leave it and… hope somebody else fixes it."

It was Neptune's turn to stare at her.

Ruby bit her lip and shifted her weight from one foot to the other, resisting the urge to chuckle and scratch the back of her head.

Suddenly, he beamed again.

"Great! Let's go, then!"

He grabbed her much smaller arm and dragged her away. But they only made it a couple of steps before they hear…

"Neptune, do you mind telling me why you are dragging my fiancee away?"

They both made an equally high-pitched "Eep!" sound.

Slowly, they both turned their heads to find the familiar face of Weiss Schnee, frowning and crossing her arms as she glared at them in such a way that they couldn't _not_ cower.

Ruby and Neptune shared a knowing glance with each other. Neptune tilted his head towards her and looked at the younger girl expectantly, wordlessly saying, "Well, you _are_ her fiancee…"

Ruby could only make a growling sound, before turning to look at the ex-heiress and plastering a smile on her face. "Nothing, Weiss! We're just-"

"You don't know where to plug the cables, do you?"

Ruby spluttered.

"Is it _that_ obvious?" asked the pouting Neptune.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "No." Seeing their shocked faces, she elaborated, "I've been watching you two dorks fumbling around with them."

 _Oh. That makes sense-_

Ruby's eyes widened. "Wait, then why didn't you help us?!"

Pale blue met shining silver, and Ruby's heart skipped a beat - awestruck by how gorgeous she looked.

Even after all these years of dating the ex-heiress, the brunette couldn't help but be lost in the depth of those eyes.

Weiss was pretty.

True, she always had been pretty - in fact, Ruby would argue that she was the most beautiful woman in the whole _universe_ \- but she truly had aged well. _Like… SUPER DUPER well._

"Because it's fun to watch you two struggle like the imbeciles that you are."

And, over the years, she'd become wittier as well.

Ruby glared at her bemusedly, their roles suddenly switching. "Hey, that's not nice."

Weiss smirked cockily, and the brunette's glare deepened when she realized the kind of smirk the singer was using. "Is that so?" she asked before striding across the room, never once looking like she'd done any wrong.

"You've been hanging out with Yang too much, you know that," Neptune pointed out. Ruby nodded at him.

"And _you've_ been hanging out with Sun too much," Weiss retorted, eyeing the amp.

"But he's my best friend," Neptune said questioningly.

"Exactly."

Ruby gaped at her, thinking, _Wow, Yang's REALLY rubbing off of you._

She should be glad that her fiancee and sister were getting along, but… well…

At times, it seemed like they were getting along too well, and begun to adopt each other's habits… Weiss moreso than Yang.

"Done."

Ruby blinked, then turned around to find Weiss' smug grin increasing in intensity.

She opened her mouth, but Neptune was the first to ask, "How?!"

Weiss stared at him, feigning ignorance. "How what?" Before he could answer, she pulled off that smirk again and said, "How I've become so smart?"

Ruby snorted. "Puh-leez, you've always _been_ smart."

She froze as she realized what she said. Weiss seemed to be in a similar state.

"Umm… Okay, are you girls gonna make out? Because the show starts in about fifteen minutes."

The brunette blushed at his frankness. Meanwhile, the singer frowned at him disapprovingly before yanking Ruby's wrist, making her tumble in the process, and dragging her away from prying eyes.

She vaguely heard the man said, "Damn… They're in love."

She smirked.

 _Heck yeah we are!_

* * *

"That… was a nice fifteen minutes…" Weiss could only roll her eyes at her girlfrie- _fiancee's_ rather blunt statement, choosing not to say anything. "Where did you even find this place? Not that I'm complaining."

The ex-heiress chuckled and planted a kiss on the brunette's cheek, causing her to form a dopey, goofy, absolutely adorable grin.

"I have my ways," she muttered. In truth, this small, empty, surprisingly-clean closet was a place she'd found on accident when she stumbled and fell into it. But she wasn't about to tell Ruby that.

Currently, she was leaning all of her weight in the woman's arms, who had her back against the wall. Her face was nuzzled into Ruby's collar, and, before she looked up at the brunette again, she planted a kiss.

"Ruby." She waited until her eyes were locked with silver before asking, "Why are you so tall?"

The woman who looked down on her laughed. "... High heels?"

Weiss frowned. "We both know how much you hate high heels, Rozē." She looked down on the woman's feet to clarify that, indeed, she was wearing no heels. Just boots.

"... Milk?"

"You are twenty-one years old. You are not allowed to use milk as an excuse anymore." Honestly, how could a woman with such a mature and developed figure act like such a child?

"It's not like I'm that tall," muttered her partner. It was true; Ruby was only one or two inches taller than her. Still… it was aggravating for her to get used to looking _up_ at her. "And you're still tall, Weiss!"

The singer scoffed and pointed a finger to the brunette's nose. "Don't lie to me."

Ruby chuckled. "Fine. You're short." Weiss gasped, offended, but before she could retort back, she found that she was unable to… because her lips were fusing with the musician's. Weiss growled and bit her lip, though not too harshly. She knew the brunette was trying to get her to stop talking. And, to her annoyance… it actually _was_ working.

Once they pulled away, Ruby cupped her cheeks lovingly. Weiss leaned into her palm, aware that even with how much she played guitar, her fingers were still soft and small.

"My Weissy…" Soft lips were pressed against her forehead. "My future wife…" Those same lips returned, only this time, to each of her cheeks.

Weiss hummed before she returned the love. "My love…" she muttered after pressing her lips against Ruby's chin. She was about to press her lips again when-

"WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY?!" a familiar voice shouted from outside the room. "THE SHOW'S SUPPOSED TO START TEN MINUTES AGO!"

Weiss snapped her head back up at Ruby, finding her to have cheeks equally as red as her own.

Ruby chuckled and shrugged. "Oops?"

 _Well… they did say time flies by fast when you're enjoying yourself._

* * *

After making sure they looked decent enough, they meet up with the nervous Neptune.

Ruby was the first to say, "Sorry we're late, Nep," even though they weren't _that_ late.

Weiss seemed to have sensed that something was wrong as she frowned and asked, "What is it?"

It made Ruby frown and turned to look at the man more closely. Indeed, the man was shaking and sweating. _Oh no,_ she thought, _is he having another episode again?_

"It's not me, I'll be fine," he said reassuringly. "I've gotten used to handling my attacks. It's… It's her I'm worried about." He looked to the side.

Ruby's eyes widened. "Why? What's wrong with her?"

He looked at her calmly and smiled. "Ah, you know. This is her first time. She's bound to be nervous." He raised his eyebrow expectantly. "Remember your first time?"

She did. How could she forget such an… unexpected experience? She blushed and looked down, unable to meet anyone's eyes. "I'll go talk to her," she resolved, starting to walk, but then stopping herself and focusing her attention back to the man again. "Will you be okay by yourself?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but no words came from him as a pale hand touched his shoulder. Weiss nodded determinedly. "He won't be alone."

Ruby nodded back, glad that Weiss was here. Out of all of them, the singer had been the best at calming down the man. If anyone could help him, it was her.

* * *

It wasn't hard to find her. After all, Ruby knew the woman must want to have some alone time, so where else would she go other than the back of the building?

Plus… Sun sort of tell her she went there.

She sat down outside the building on the grass and was linking her two hands together, fidgeting and trying to take deep breaths, muttering some things. The sight pained Ruby, but at the same time, it made her glad because it showed how much she truly wanted to be in the band.

Slowly, as to not alarmed her, Ruby sat down next to her.

Despite her efforts, the girl started, but after recognizing who she was, she gave Ruby a friendly, strained smile.

"Salutations, Ruby!"

She even gave her a little salute. Ruby chuckled.

"Hey, Penny," she said with the softest voice she could mutter. "You doing okay?"

"Of course! I am one hundred percent functional!"

The woman shook her head and bit her cheek from laughing. Penny was an odd one, that was for sure. But she had skills. Skills that were good enough to get her on the band.

Yet that wasn't what got her into the band. Sure, her skills definitely played some part, but… a lot of people had skills.

But not a lot of people had a kind heart like hers.

That was what got her into the band.

Everyone greeted her warmly, as far as Ruby could tell. And she fitted right in with them. A weird but (sort of) loving and accepting family.

"Penny, you know that's not what I mean," she softly said, readjusting her sitting position to make herself more comfortable, putting her hands on her head. She planned on sticking around until the girl was ready to speak.

And when she spoke, she spoke in a way that ached Ruby's chest.

"... I suppose I am… afraid."

She sounded so small. So fragile.

"Afraid of?"

Yet Ruby pressed on anyway. She knew nobody should bottle up their feelings and hid it away from others.

Better to let it out now than never.

"... Not being as good as Belladonna."

 _Ah._

Ruby listened and watched as Penny gazed into the bright blue sky, her eyes darting around in uncertainty.

"She was so great, so wonderful, both while playing and in person. I don't know if I can measure up to her." She frowned and muttered, "I'm afraid I'll ruin your show."

Silver eyes narrowed before she tilted her head upwards, heaving a deep sigh. She looked at the clouds and smiled when one of them reminded her of hearts.

"Penny…" she started slowly. "Have I ever told you about my first show?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Penny cocking her head to the side in confusion.

"Yes, I believe you were a teenager when you performed in a cafe-"

"No, no," she chuckled, "that was a solo gig. I'm talking about my very first _band_ performance."

Penny's interest increased tenfold as she straightened her back and leaned closer towards her.

"I… I know some things about it," she said, trying to sound disinterest. "There are a lot of rumors, different opinions that people have about it." Of course there was.

"Oh? And what are those?" she coaxed.

Penny didn't answer for a long time. Turning around, Ruby saw her biting her lip in a sort of confusion.

"That you were… a guest." Ruby cocked her head to the side. _Well, that's one way of putting it._ "People have known you from before, from that video Weiss sent, so they wanted to see you. The band planned to-" Ruby laughed. Penny looked at her, confused, if not, a little offended. "Did I say something funny?"

Ruby waved her hand, assuring her with a shake of her head that it wasn't intentional of her to make fun of the girl.

"No, it's just… There was no plan."

Penny froze, then blinked a couple of times - almost comically so. "I'm sorry?"

"There has never been a plan to have me there," Ruby repeated, her tone hardened to _show_ that she was, indeed, serious.

"But then…" She shook her head rather forcibly before turning to look at Ruby. The brunette's jaw dropped; she'd never seen the girl looked so distraught. "Why?"

The brunette herself didn't know what to say other than the truth. "Well… Neptune lost his keytars." Penny's eyes widened, and Ruby threw her hands up. "Don't worry, he got it back… I think," she added under her breath. After clearing her throat, she continued, "I happened to be there, and, I know most of the songs. So they decided… Why not replace me with Neptune?"

The brunette then broke into a laugh, wiping a tear away as she recalled that insane day. "Can you imagine?! I was only sixteen! I've never practiced with them, not even once, and now I'm gonna play with them?! I didn't even know I was gonna play until that moment!"

Recalling the vivid memory, Ruby couldn't help but shake her head with how idiotic it all seemed. Yet she didn't regret it. Not when that silly event led her to this place. Not when it led her to a happiness she would never trade for anything.

"Then… How did you… How did you make it?"

Ruby smiled at Penny's bafflement.

"They helped me out with it." Both the band and her own fans. "They helped me go through with it. Whenever I made a mistake, they always made it seem like it's never a mistake." Ruby, for a moment, closed her eyes. She opened them again and rested a hand on the girl's shoulder. "And that's exactly what _we_ will do to you, Penny. So don't worry, okay! Even if you mess up, they'll love you!"

The last part had the intended effect; Penny burst into giggles. Her laughter was music on her ears…

 _Oh…_

 _Oh no…_

 _I'M BECOMING MY SISTER!_

"But… Blake…"

Ruby blinked and looked back at her friend. Penny still looked conflicted, even after that pep talk, but from the sounds of it, she was conflicted about another matter entirely.

The brunette smiled at her, squeezing the shoulder she'd been resting her hand on.

"Blake's Blake. And you're you." She paused to let her words sink in. And it seemed like it did, but she nonetheless added, "You two play different styles of music, and you're both equally great at it! Trust me! Everyone will love you! If they don't…" She frowned for a moment, thinking. "Then Sun will knock some sense into them!"

Penny giggled again. Ruby looked at her and - when she realized the girl didn't seem to be conflicted about anything anymore - sighed in relief. She was glad she was able to cheer up her friend.

"Thank you, Friend Ruby!"

Ruby smiled at the girl's enthusiastic tone. "Anytime."

* * *

One feline ear flicked as she turned on the TV.

Her eyebrow raised when the channel that was first presented to her was one that currently showed a wrestling match.

 _Of course she was watching wrestling shows…_

But, then again, she'd be surprised if Yang wasn't watching anything sports-related…

She kept switching the channels until she found the one she wanted to watch.

" _Hello everyone, my name is Lisa Lavender, and I am here back again to talk about Hunters and Huntresses."_

The woman frowned a little. Lisa wasn't who she wanted to see…

As the woman kept rattling on and on, she started to tune out her words and focus on everything else.

She leaned back on the couch, readjusting the pillows to make herself more comfortable before letting gravity take her body over, falling down with an audible 'PLOP!'

She stared at the faraway ceiling as her mind began to wander.

She closed her eyes and listened.

No noises, other than the voices coming from the neighborhood.

Nothing from inside the house - apart from the muted sound of the TV and her own breathing.

 _It's so quiet…_

A few years back, she would've liked the silence. Why wouldn't she? She was a self-proclaimed introvert who liked books and not talking to people.

But that was before Yang Xiao Long.

 _Too quiet, even…_

With a light frown and pursed lips, Blake looked back to the TV, eyes widening when she saw who was in it.

With a smile, she turned the volume up.

The familiar face of Sun Wukong appeared, holding a mic and looking at a reporter with his sunny, welcoming smile.

It appeared that the interview had been going on for quite some time.

" _What are your opinions on the band's newest member, Penny Polendina?"_

His face brightened up at the mention of the girl's name, as did hers.

" _Oh, she's great! She's fun to have around, always looks on the bright side of things! Plus, our styles are sort of similar, even though she's more techno and I'm, well,"_ he shrugged, " _me. Trust me, she's nothing short of amazing!"_

Blake chuckled at that. Trust Sun to always be positive and never bring out any negative aura.

It seemed like _that_ aspect of himself hadn't changed, even if many others had.

Both of her ears perked up when they picked up the faint sound of shoes coming in contact with the front lawn of her house. Of _their_ house.

Each step sounded confident, loud, boisterous.

A picture of someone appeared in her head; someone with a mane wilder than her personality and shining brighter than the sun in the middle of July. Someone with such tender purple eyes that could ease Blake in the harshest of rainstorms.

Someone with a smile that was… the personification of warmth itself.

Someone who was nothing close to being perfect.

Someone who, in her eyes, had exceeded beyond being the perfect woman for her-

"Blakey! I forgot to bring the keys with me! Mind opening up the door?"

Well… sometimes she could be better than perfect…

Other times, however, she was just infuriating.

After releasing a sound somewhere between a frustrated groan and a devastated sigh, Blake begrudgingly got up from the _very_ comfortable couch and _very_ slowly walked towards the door, grunting when she accidentally stepped on one of her girlfriend's motorcycle magazines.

 _This woman, I swear…_

She had told her a dozen times at this point to not leave her things lying on the floor like some kind of animal! Yet still, she wouldn't listen!

She opened the door to be greeted by the sight of the obliviously-smiling Yang that, upon seeing her face, fell.

"Whoa, what's with the look?" she asked casually.

"I was very comfortable," Blake responded, not at all casually.

"Oh," Yang could only say, her shoulders slumping a bit.

"You left your stupid magazines lying on the floor, too," Blake added, her eyes narrowing.

The blonde winced. "Yeah…"

Blake's eyes narrowed even more.

Yang seemed to sense that she was expecting her to say something and supplied a weak, "Sorry…"

"Is that a question?"

The blonde stiffened almost comically. "No, ma'am."

"Then do it properly!" barked the cat faunus.

If Blake wasn't so angry right now, she would've found Yang's squeak adorable. "Umm, I- err… I'm sorry for leaving a mess around our house, Blake." She attempted another one of her charming smiles. "I'll make it up to you, I promise!"

Some of her anger was washed away, replaced by curiosity.

One black eyebrow rose.

"How?"

"Umm… by… massaging you?"

The other eyebrow rose as well.

Blake cocked her head a little to the side - one feline ear drooping a little as a result - but she offered no comment, merely walking back inside their house.

When she heard Yang following her not too far behind, she gave the blonde a warning.

"If you don't tidy up, then you'll sleep on the couch tonight."

… Fine. It was more of a threat.

* * *

Yang narrowed her eyes, inspecting her hard work one last time, making sure that there was, indeed, no cool, tough, awesome magazines - though Blake preferred to call it 'stupid bike magazines' - left lying around the living room floor. Or any floor, for that matter.

A grin slowly formed on her face when the place looked spotless. She high-fived herself because, really, she was awesome!

Slowly, her gaze drifted to the couch and who was lying on it.

She couldn't help but smile at the sight. Blake was lying on _their_ couch.

'Their'.

Because this house didn't _just_ belong to Yang. Neither did it belong to _just_ Blake.

This house belonged to _them_.

This…

This wasn't just a house…

This was _home._

It was odd, for her to even _think_ that - especially considering where she stood in life a couple of years back.

But, at the same time, it was also…

Right.

"What are you smiling about?"

Yang blinked, her dopey grin not disappearing. "You," she said after sighing blissfully.

When she turned to look at her girlfriend and saw the feline woman blushing, her grin turned into a smirk.

 _Even after all these years, I still got it._

Blake shook her head, trying to clear her blush. With a frown, she retorted, "Nothing inappropriate, I hope."

Yang blushed as her eyes widened. Not-so-appropriate images involving a lack of clothing and her girlfriend filled the blonde's mind.

"YANG!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" she amended, throwing up her hands, trying her best not to break into a smile at the sight of her _very_ red girlfriend. "In my defense, _you're_ the one who made me!" She added under her breath, "Plus, it's not like it's anything I haven't seen before-"

" _What_ was that?!"

Crap! She'd forgotten about her girlfriend's super amazing sense of hearing!

Yang could only chuckle, her shoulders sagging as she took a step back, sweat dripping from her forehead as she locked eyes with _murderous_ amber.

Blake's body leaned forward ever so slightly, eyes narrowing into slits, and before Yang's feet could move…

Her face was slammed with a pillow.

She caught it before it fell, looking at it for a couple of seconds in utter incredulous, before looking back up to meet the face of her girlfriend, who was smirking, and _also suddenly very close._

Yang jumped back, with a loud, and _totally not cute_ shriek, her lips pursing in fear as she watched Blake's smirk growing wider.

"Did-" She cleared her throat, trying to lower the pitch of her voice since it had sounded shrill. "Did you just throw a pillow at me?"

"I did."

Blake took a large step forward. Their noses almost touched. Yang sought something in Blake's eyes before closing her own, leaning in slowly and puckering her lips-

A finger poked her forehead.

Yang stumbled back, less because of the impact and more because of the surprise.

Her eyes were wide as she looked at Blake, once again wondering _what the fuck just happened?_

She knew one thing, though; whatever game her girlfriend was playing, she knew Blake enjoyed it immensely.

"There," the infuriatingly-gorgeous woman spoke. "Now we're even."

Yang's eyes narrowed.

Blake's smile stayed.

The blonde heaved a deep breath, sulking, and, being the _mature adult_ that she was, resigned herself by saying, "Fine. We're even." She thought for a moment before asking, "Does this mean I won't have to give you a massage?" She turned to look at Blake to find her already plopping back down on the couch. "Hey! I-"

" _-but don't you two think it's a little rushed to get engaged this early on?"_

Whatever she was about to say was forgotten, and, with excitement, she joined the faunus on the couch, beaming.

On the TV were her favorite sister - Rubbles - and her not-so-favorite sister-in-law - the Ice Queen. The former looked proud, while the latter looked like she was doing all her best not to explode from embarrassment.

Yang shifted closer to Blake, smiling contentedly when she felt a weight that was undoubtedly Blake's head resting on her shoulder, hearing a purr as well.

Together, they watched as their sisters and in-laws made fun of themselves live. And not for the first time.

" _Of course not!"_ the brunette proudly said, her sheer belief causing the other woman to look at her with equal parts endearment and embarrassment. " _We've been dating for a couple of years now, why WOULDN'T we want to finally tie things together?"_

The ex-heiress nudged Ruby by the elbow, subtly reprimanding her to be more 'appropriate'. Tsk. As if her little sister could ever be appropriate.

" _I'll admit,"_ the singer continued, " _it is a little sudden, but we believe we've made the right choice."_ Despite her attitude being nothing other than professional, Yang knew Weiss' words were genuine.

The interviewer nodded before asking, " _And which one of you proposed?"_

The two women's cheeks _burned_. Yang cackled. Blake chuckled.

"Oh man, I am not missing out on this," the blonde said, leaning forward.

" _U-um-"_ Weiss' voice sounded very high and very nervous. " _That's… not something we'd like to-"_

" _I did,"_ Ruby said with no regrets, grinning cheekily.

The interviewer opened her mouth to ask another question, but Weiss said in a rush, " _Okay, and that is all the time we can give you, goodbye,"_ as she dragged Ruby out of the camera by her wrist.

The last thing they all heard was a loud whine of " _What?! It's true!"_ coming from none other than the guitarist of Hunters and Huntresses.

The interviewer was dumbfounded but managed to recover and said, "There you have it, folks. " _Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee. Or should I say Weiss Rose?"_

Yang rolled her eyes when she began to talk about the band and its brief history - why would she, of all people, need to listen to that? She didn't call herself a fan for nothing! Even if she technically was only a fan of Blake, that didn't mean she was about to slack off and _not_ learn the history of the band!

She grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. The sounds that remained were her and the small but noticeable purring coming from Blake. It died down soon after, prompting her to raise an eyebrow and looked down at her girlfriend, wondering what made her stop.

Blake's eyes were cast down. As were her ears.

Yang's hand cupped her cheek, firmly but not forcibly getting the woman to meet her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?" she said as she saw the melancholy amber, despite already having an idea of what it was about.

Blake bit her lip, and the blonde briefly saw fear flashing through her eyes, but then she closed her eyes and sighed.

She opened them back, and Yang was almost overwhelmed by the number of emotions swirling through those pools of gold.

"It's just… Do they miss me…?"

Ah…

She had been correct…

Yang kept staring at Blake's face - the face that somehow kept turning more and more beautiful as time passed - and smiled. Her fingers found their way into the tresses of black, twirling around with the strands.

"Of course they do," she softly said, causing surprise to fill in the woman's eyes. "You're their family, Blake." Yang tried to ease off some of her worries by pulling her into a deep kiss, reminding her that she loved her and that Blake was her family too, even if she hadn't proposed… yet. Pulling back gently, the blonde frowned when Blake still didn't look entirely convinced. She tried to lighten the mood by suggesting, "You can still do a show, you know. Even if you're officially not with them anymore, they'll still welcome you back!"

Blake bit her lip. "But what if no one likes me anymore?"

Yang blinked, tilting her head. "I _highly_ doubt that, but _if_ that _somehow_ , for _some_ reason, happens," Blake rolled her eyes at her exagerration, "then I'll punch them in the face."

Blake blinked. "Yang, that's like, thousands of people."

Yang flashed her a sunny smile. "Don't care. Still wanna punch them."

The answer caused her to get shoved by the shoulder, though it wasn't strong enough to get her to stumble. It was all in good fun, proven by the grins that they were both wearing.

"Still a dragon, are you?"

And, at that moment, Yang looked at Blake. She smiled at what she saw, her heart never feeling warmer and better and happier than ever before, because _this_ …

Everything about this...

It was all...

A dream come true.

Yang shook her head. "Nope~ I'm no dragon~" she teased.

Blake frowned and asked, "Then what?"

Yang looked at the woman she knew would stay with her for the rest of her life - the woman who had changed her own life. The woman whose life she'd changed. The woman that had become her everything. The woman that saw her as everything and more...

And she smiled.

"Your fan and girlfriend, of course."


	42. One Year

"Man, I can't believe it's been one year since I started dating Blake."

Ruby paused in her cookie-eating administrations, looking up at her big sis in curiosity. "Yeah. And?"

Yang looked as though she was flustered. Flustered about what, the brunette didn't know. " _And_ I'm dating a superstar."

Ruby cocked her head to the side. Did the blonde forget…? "Yang. I'm also dating a superstar."

"Yeah, but Weiss is different!"

A sense of overprotectiveness washed over her.

* * *

"How so?"

Blake flinched at her cold tone. She then offered the singer a rueful half-smile. "I'm not saying it's a bad thing…"

"Well, I sure hope so." Otherwise, she'd give her friend a lecture. A very long, _not-so-fun_ lecture.

"It's just… Ruby didn't confess to you after you've known her for less than a week."

Huh.

Good point.

Weiss still didn't understand the point Blake was trying to make, though.

"You two did start off a bit…" Redundantly. Weirdly. Confusingly. Weiss cleared her throat, knowing not to upset her friend. "But you girls did it at the end."

Blake furrowed her brows, looking down, ears flattening. It mildly alarmed the heiress.

"Isn't it a little weird?"

* * *

"Ruby blinked at the sudden vague question. "Is what weird?"

Yang gave a helpless shrug but still refused to meet her eyes. "Us."

"... What?"

Her big sister finally looked up. Ruby was overwhelmed by the many emotions and thoughts dancing within those lilac eyes.

"I've known her for far longer than she knows me. I've been her fan for practically years. I know everything there is to know about her before I've even _met_ her."

"Well, when you put it like that, it does sound a little stalker-ish."

Ruby meant that as a joke. But Yang quickly pointed a finger at her, looking as serious as ever. "Exactly!"

* * *

Weiss' shock didn't last long.

Soon, that shock turned into a sense of understanding.

And that understanding morphed into determination. A determination to stop her friend - her sister - from thinking such idiotic things.

She stood up from her chair rather abruptly, a squeaking noise emanating from the chair as it was pushed back.

The noise startled Blake, causing her to look up at the shorter girl in bewilderment. Good. She needed the noirette's full attention if she were to talk some sense into her.

"Look. I get it. You two live in different worlds. You might not get to see her often, what with our tours and meet-and-greets."

Blake held eye-contact for a moment before breaking it. She sulked, sinking into her chair, crossing her arms.

Weiss cleared her throat expectantly.

Blake rolled her eyes, thinking of it as childish - even though it was _not at all_ childish - and muttered a quiet "But…?"

Weiss didn't waste time answering, neither did she beat around the bush.

* * *

"But you two care for each other." The answer seemed to surprise her big sis. And that surprise urged her to continue. "And you two adore each other. And you two trust and respect each other. You two… You two also love each other."

Yang flinched, red coloring her cheeks. "You don't know that…"

 _But I do,_ she chose not to say. "The point is… You're worrying about nothing, Yang."

Yang smiled, but it was shortlived. Something akin to guilt and shame painted the features of her face.

"Is… Is it bad that I expected us to be over as quickly as it started?"

* * *

The very notion itself baffled her.

"What?"

Blake looked away. Weiss had a feeling she wasn't really seeing anything.

"When we first started dating… I kept thinking 'This is it. She's finally going to realize I'm not who she thinks I am. She'll be disappointed. It won't work out.'" The musician chuckled and rubbed her neck bashfully. She looked like a lovestruck middle-schooler. The sight made Weiss smile. "I'm honestly surprised she didn't want to break up with me after the first week. Let alone month…"

"You say that like you're not a good person, Blake," she deadpanned, giving the older girl a scolding look.

"Sorry," the noirette chuckled, looking brighter than ever.

She smiled. "Don't be."

Blake straightened herself. "Thanks, Weiss." Weiss nodded in response, sitting back in her chair, finally getting back on her nail-polishing administrations. Literally five seconds later, she said, "Hey, Weiss?"

She sighed. Long and hard.

"Go."

* * *

"W-what?"

Ruby waited until she swallowed her delicious cookie before saying, "It's obvious that you want to see her again." She looked up with a knowing smile. "So go. Go to her, Yang."

Yang blinked in surprise before a grin broke out of her lips. With newfound fiery determination, she stood up, grabbed her key and left.

Ruby was left shaking her head and smiling.

Her big sis could be such a doofus sometimes.

Seconds later, she had her ringing phone on her ear, drumming her fingers on the table as she waited for the coolest singer ever to pick up her phone.

The device beeped, signaling someone had picked it up.

" _Greetings, Ruby,"_ a cool, smooth voice answered.

"Hey, Weiss. Yang just told me about how much she loves Blake and how much of an amazing girlfriend she is, and it made me think about you."

" _Funny,"_ the other line answered. " _A similar thing happened to me."_

"So… Since Yang is off to who-knows-where..." Even though she totally knew where her big sis was going - that sparkle in her eyes told Ruby everything. "I was thinking that it'd be great for us to maybe sort of… jam together at my place…"

" _Is that an invitation?"_

Ruby mulled it over.

Then, she shrugged.

"Maybe?" was the clear answer.

* * *

Blake watched as the lovesick girl hung up her phone, her dumb grin never leaving her face. It was always a pleasure watching the normally stoic and serious girl turn into such a… well, such a teenager.

"Well?"

The singer blinked, looking puzzled as she looked at her. "'Well' what?"

"Aren't you going to go on your date?"

It took her a couple of seconds to remember what she'd been talking about with Yang's sister over the phone. "Oh." Then she stomped her foot, giving what would've been a menacing glare if not for the red on her pale face. "She didn't _say_ it's a date."

"What did she say, then?"

The red intensified. "That is none of your business."

"Fine, fine. Good luck on your date then."

Weiss opened her mouth to give a retort, but looked at her phone and snapped her mouth shut. With poised elegance, she stood up, grabbed her jacket and small purse and left the room.

 _Oh, Weiss… You're so easy to tease…_

Soon, her thoughts were filled with the image of her lovable girlfriend.

Blake was content on leaning on her chair, simply mulling over her relationship.

It was still early in the morning.

It was her and Yang's anniversary.

She missed her girlfriend.

She wanted to see her.

She wanted to see her right now.

But it was still early in the morning.

… _Well, they did say love makes you crazy… or something like that._

* * *

When the elevator of Blake's hotel opened, Yang expected to see either no one or someone she didn't recognize. The more romantic and hopeful part of her even hoped to see Blake herself.

Imagine her surprise - and disappointment - when she saw the princess, of all people.

"Oh," Weiss said upon looking at her. Her brows fell into a straight line. "Why am I not surprised to see you, of all people?"

"... Probably because I'm awesome?"

 _Real smooth, Xiao Long._

Weiss didn't call her out on her lame comeback - surprisingly. She instead left the elevator with stride, only stopping to look at her and said, "Tell Blake 'I told you so'," before leaving, not even sparing her a glance.

"... Huh."

With that, Yang entered the elevator, pressing the number to her girlfriend's floor, giddy and nervous.

Things didn't go quite as she planned, but hopefully, Blake would love it all the same.

* * *

Blake was very shocked, very amazed, and very happy to see her girlfriend upon opening the door.

"Hey, Blake… Weiss told me to tell you 'I told you so'."

But the noirette didn't care about that and instead asked a more important question. "What are you doing here?"

Yang flashed her a smile. "Isn't it obvious."

 _Well… It IS obvious, but…_

"It's still early in the morning."

 _Even though, apparently, it's not early enough to stop girlfriends from coming to their lovers' houses._

"Then why are you all dressed up?"

It was then that Blake realized that she was, indeed, all dressed up.

"Well, I…" Blake tried to come up with an excuse but couldn't find any that Yang would find even remotely believable. She sighed. "I planned on going to the floristry."

"Oh, don't bother," chuckled Yang. "They're all closed. Trust me. I've checked." She then cleared her throat and raised her eyebrow. "May I ask why you're going to the flower store?"

Blake smiled knowingly. "Isn't it obvious."

"... Oh." Yang then cleared her throat. "So, I, umm… Sorry I didn't bring you any flow-"

Blake didn't let the adorable goofball finish her sentence by kissing her.

She then broke off the kiss only to envelop Yang in a hug.

Softly, she whispered into the sweet girl's ear:

"Happy one year anniversary."

* * *

 **If you haven't noticed yet, the reason why I'm uploading this chapter on this day and why the chapter's about Bumblebee's one year anniversary is that…**

 **Today marks the one year anniversary of 'Fans and Girlfriends'.**

 **I almost can't believe it either. This story is special to me, moreso than the rest of my stories (not that I hate my other stories…). I loved writing this story. I loved letting my characters grow and develop and interact with one another. I learned how to write as I wrote this story. I met so many amazing people because of this story.**

 **I know the chapter is short (in this story's standards), I did plan to write a longer chapter but… I just got back from my vacation and I didn't exactly have time to whip out a 3k word chapter. I mean… I could, but… I didn't want to force myself and burn myself out writing this chapter.**

 **So… yeah.**

 **I hope you enjoy this short, wholesome chapter.**

 **Happy one year anniversary, fangirls and fanboys.**

 **:)**


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